Cannot Be Broken
by White Dire Wolf
Summary: COMPLETE! Kagome has unknown powers. Found and raised by Sesshomaru, will she master these powers in time before she is taken? Even after she recklessly agreed to marry his enemy and brother, InuYasha? Rated for language, limes and lemon.
1. Childhood Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, but I really do appreciate Rumiko Takahashi's work.

-+- 

Her earliest memory was also her worst memory.

The sky was red and smoke filled her senses. Screams terrorized the night…was it night? It was so dark, she never really knew. But what she did know was that she was in danger. Her heart pounded and she could hear heavy breathing against her right ear. The person carrying her was running fast, panic was mixed with each heaving breath. She couldn't see beyond the shoulder she was pressed against, just smoke and red. And she was crying.

"O…Okaa…?" she whimpered, struggling against the shoulder.

A warm hand rubbed her back and held her closer. The breathing in her ear was beginning to rasp, and the arms and shoulder surrounding her began to shake in exhaustion. Then the breath turned into a mottled scream.

The tiny girl was wrenched from the safe arms that held her, and she finally saw the face of her mother. Everything moved in slow motion, and the vision burned fast in her memory. The woman was terrified. Her face was streaked with blood, sweat and tears. Her clothing was shredded and stained red.

Rough hands gripped into the young child as she watched her mother being dragged down in front of her by two creatures in armor. The only word that ripped from her mother's throat before it was slit was her name.

"KAGOME!"

The young girl's eyes widened and she screamed in terror, pain, sorrow and rage as she watched her mother die in front of her. She barely felt the hands of the demon that held her grow tighter when she reached out for mother. All she could remember from that point was a blinding flash of white and colors and then silence.

-+-

A stoic figure stood among the ruins of the mountain shrine. Gray smoke and haze covered what was left of it. The dusty dullness, and all that followed that morning, would be remembered by this living statue as he cast his golden eyes about the destruction caused by war.

The demon Lord of the Western Lands surveyed the damage. Bodies littered the ground, and fires smoldered the ashen logs of huts and temples. The smell of desecration was overwhelming. Yet the gore that surrounded him did not seem to faze him, nor did it detract from the powerful aura that radiated off of him. He stood tall, and leg length silver hair flowed lightly around him. Even the white of his kimono under his black armor was not touched by the smoke and death around him. He was a beacon in the gloom, and it was how the miko found him.

The young priestess stood before him, her head lowered in a slight bow. "You sent for me, Lord Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru cast his eyes from the dead village to the woman before him. Her dark hair was tied back behind her shoulders and was contrasted against her white chihaya. Soot clung to her red hibakama, a stark difference in comparison to the demon lord in front of her. She tightened her hold slightly on her bow that was by her side. His glimpse of her was brief before turning again to the village.

"Kikyo," his voice was calm and level, almost bored, "do you sense survivors?"

She looked up at him then turned to look towards the village. Her eyes cast in a wide sweep, her aura searching for any life force that could possibly remain in this now mountain graveyard.

"No." She said evenly, almost with no emotion like her lord. "There is no life here."

Sesshomaru nodded slightly in acknowledgement, but there was something not right about this scene. It was not just that everything was dead; villagers, soldiers, livestock and even vermin, but there was a faint hint of magic and power that emanated from this village, almost as if whatever caused this was still here. Before he could focus on it, the miko caught his attention as her head jerked swiftly to the side.

"What do you sense?"

She did not turn to him, but instead cocked her head as if she was listening for something. "Another miko…. Perhaps one of the priestesses survived? But that cannot be right. No life is here, but I can feel it. There is an aura of great power, but it is faint." She began to move among the debris, focusing on the source of the power.

Sesshomaru watched her step cautiously across the black soil. His own aura was feeling the same thing. He was about to let Kikyo search for the power alone, but a faint scent caught his attention. Something was defiantly alive among the burned refuse. He sniffed the air and followed the scent, walking past the miko to where the scent grew strong.

A massive body of a twisted demon laid curled in a muddled heap. A slight frown passed on the Lord's face as he pushed the body aside with his foot, revealing what was underneath. The young miko drew up beside him.

"The aura draws from here." She stated mostly to herself, knowing full well the demon lord could sense it. She bent low and moved her hand over the area and immediately her eyes widened in surprise. Reaching down, she brushed aside the spiked arm of the dead demon. Underneath was a small girl, no more than three years old. "She's alive…."

The demon lord looked over the miko's shoulder to the child. Aside from being covered in mud and dirt, the girl was unharmed. But what was more amazing was that she was the source of the immense power they both felt.

Kneeling beside the miko, he gently grasped the child and lifted her into his arms. He stood holding the child, almost as if to assess the power coming from her. The girl groaned slightly, and managed to open her eyes slightly to look up at him from the embrace.

She saw golden eyes look down at her, but she was not afraid. She felt safe in his arms even though hours before she was surrounded by horror. His hair was moved by the wind and she was curtained in silver, so all she could see was his face. He came for her and he will take care of her. She was certain of that. Reaching up to touch his face, her only expression she had for the man was one….

"Otou…."

The demon lord blinked back surprise. The girl sighed and fell into unconsciousness in his arms…after calling him father.

Before he could process it fully, a squawking voice rattled his pointed ears.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!" A green toad type demon, knee high to the demon lord, came running up to stand by Sesshomaru's side panting.

Sesshomaru inwardly cringed, though he acknowledged his vassal's presence emotionlessly. "Jaken."

"Lord Sesshomaru," the demon panted, his eyes bugged to look at his surroundings, "what has happened here?"

Sesshomaru cast his eyes about. He knew what the small youkai was asking. This was no ordinary battle scene. Aside from the girl in his arms, there were no survivors. The demon hordes that attacked this village were all slaughtered, along with the villagers they came to claim for their master.

His golden eyes settled on a red flag marred with mud and old blood. Patches still showed its original red hue, and in the middle was a stained but very recognizable white demon dog. 'InuYasha….'

But this did not seem to add up. There were too many incongruities that would not make him believe his brother was the cause of this onslaught. For one, his younger brother had no control over any massive demon army. As far as he was aware, InuYasha had only a ragtag team of humans and lesser demons. If InuYasha was capable of having such a strong army, although he may be a fool and barbaric, he would not leave an army alone to fight any force on its own. His body would also be among the dead, but Sesshomaru could not sense it among the decay. Also, what was the motivation to claim a small mountain village, with no real use of power or sway in this war?

Both he and InuYasha had no use for humans. More importantly, his brother was a human lover, spending most of his time with mortals. He acted with more favor towards his mother's human side than his father's demonic, and as far as Sesshomaru was aware, would not actively harm any human, let alone a secluded village. None of this was making sense.

His servant again hindered his train of thought, straining whatever patience he had mastered.

"That is the mongrel's flag! My Lord, your detestable younger brother's army were completely destroyed in this village! And to think, even if your army was able to counter this attack, they too might be among the dead!" The green youkai screeched. "Whatever had the power to cause this, to kill men and demon alike with one swipe, would be a force worth taking!"

"Indeed." Sesshomaru agreed.

Looking upon the scene once more, it did appear that whatever had caused this had done so in one stoke, since the bodies, though unmoving on the ground, looked as if they were stopped at mid-motion. Faces showed the expressions they had in battle; rage, fear, and joyful wrath. It looked as if the life force was just sucked right out of them.

Only one force was capable of such reckless power - Tetsusaiga, the sword that his half brother possessed. Yet, the land surrounding them did not contain the battle scars of the Tetsusaiga's attack. Nor did it make sense for his brother to destroy his own army, if this was the case, especially since all the allies of InuYasha's were needed just to face one of his own army. Sesshomaru smirked internally.

His younger half brother and he had been at war for years. It was a battle to claim the territories of the Western Land given to Sesshomaru upon their father's death. But more so, it was a battle of power and control, especially the power and control of Tetsusaiga. Yet rarely had the lives of humans been involved, which made the destruction of this village all the more intriguing. Sesshomaru had heard too late the assault impending on the mountain shrine village, but the question still remained, why this village?

Kikyo stood to look at the girl cradled in her Lord's arms. She eyes cast in reverence, almost to answer his unspoken question. "This mountain village was a sacred shrine, home to the legend of the Shikon no Tama, the jewel of four souls. The legend states the jewel could be used to make any who possessed it more powerful, but also, they would know and control the secrets to life itself. Many tried to claim the jewel, but whether for good or evil, the purpose did not matter, since the jewel was always sought for personal gain, never for the betterment of all."

Kikyo looked around in sadness as she remembered the bedtime story she grew up with. "The people of the mountain village had become master warriors as well, to protect the jewel. From their knowledge and wisdom possessed from caring for the Shikon no Tama, they sought to share the jewel and to use the power of it justly and wisely.

"But great demons that fought for the jewel grew envious at the idea of sharing the power and declared war on the mountain. They joined as one and surged against the shrine. By this abomination, many were killed and the warrior priests and priestesses were depleted to a small number, who were scattered into the four winds.

"Among the ruins of the mountain, within a small shrine, the great demon found the jewel, but it was not as it was thought it to be. The jewel was in fact a young priestess, Midoriko, whose aura produced peace and tranquility, and whose power was great because it was truth. They fought for many days and nights, with the demon incarnate overpowering her in the end. With her last ounce of strength, she purged her all her power into the demon, thus she was able to cast him out, and exiled him to hell. Yet her power was spent from destroying this great evil, and she transformed herself into a ball of light and disappeared. Legend states she was to be born again from the hearts of the surviving warriors, to purge the world of evil and to again bring peace and life to the world again."

Kikyo looked up at Sesshomaru before casting her eyes on the last standing shrine, burnt but whole. "But this was just a legend, a story with a moral, that within our minds and souls, we must conquer the evil that fights with our good, in order to transcend into light and life. It is what we were taught in our youth when we train in our spiritual powers.

"The people of this shrine village were actual warrior priests and priestesses such as the legend states, but they had created this story to uphold the ideal of peace and tranquility. The story itself was not real. They were of no threat to anyone. Why would the hanyou, or anyone for that matter, care to destroy this village?"

Sesshomaru looked down at the sleeping girl. What was she, what could she possibly be? Though her power was ebbed, it was apparent she was the cause of what had happened here, but it was now a matter of finding out how and why. Sesshomaru internally frowned. 'A force worth taking, but more, one worth containing.'

The demon lord cast his eyes over the miko. "My half brother was never one to care for legitimacy of stories, but to desecrate an entire village over one… this is more than what it appears to be." 'And this girl more than what she appears to be. This legend bears further reckoning'

He studied the girl. Her black hair and pale skin were ordinary enough, but the eyes that had looked up at him were a startling purple gray. Other than that, her appearance was that of any young human child. The only thing that set her apart was the faint throbbing of power recharging within her small frame, not noticeable to demons below him, but enough for any with spiritual powers to channel. He could feel it with his own powers, almost as if it was beckoning his aura to join with hers, to heal and protect her. It was unsettling, yet calming and soft. But was it also something that could easily sway to destroy an entire village?

Whatever had the power to dominate that of the Tetsusaiga was a power worth protecting. Another consideration was that this child would grow, if given the opportunity, and with her, her power would increase. Amazing what she could be capable of. She could possibly be a weapon of massive destruction.

He growled at the idea. Whatever had laid siege on this village was aware of this power, but he had little to believe it was InuYasha. Something was amiss.

InuYasha was many things, but he was not capable of such reckless harm, even if he did control the most powerful possession given by their father. Though he did control it as if it was a toy. Sesshomaru frowned in distaste. He even knew that InuYasha's claim on Tetsusaiga was legitimate, but to share any of his father's wealth with a bastard that should not have been whelped at all was dishonorable.

He too was given a worthy sword. The Tensaiga had the ability to heal and revive the dead with one stroke, but Sesshomaru was of the mind that the line between life and death should not easily be manipulated, and had rarely used the sword. But it was not such a threat compared to Tetsusaiga.

Though Sesshomaru had fought for the glory contained within the Tetsusaiga, neither brother could ever use their swords for the destruction or gain in domination against all under them. But something out there did, and had controlled a strong demon army to try to claim the power needed to do so. And had used his brother's symbol as cover. But did this something know it was contained within the body of a small child?

Resigned with that fact, Sesshomaru held more tightly to the girl, and felt an unexplainable and overwhelming protectiveness over her. She would not be reduced to that fate, nor will anyone be aware of her powers, not even the girl if he could help it. To remain ignorant of any abnormal abilities the girl may have would be beneficial to everyone. No one could abuse what they did not know existed.

Holding her securely, he carried her to the outskirts of the village and beyond, to the waiting army of the Western Lands. Kikyo and Jaken following behind him.

"My Lord?" Kikyo walked up beside him and questioned quietly. "What will you do with the child?"

Stopping for a moment, he looked straight ahead. He had not thought what to do with her, only to take her with him. But now he knew something had to be done. He closed his eyes and appeared thoughtful, before opening his eyes and continued walking. "Rin."

Kikyo nodded. She knew not to question any more from him and made a quick motion to trip over and step on the green youkai who came up beside her and Sesshomaru. Jaken was about to spew forth many questions and insults regarding the girl and the dishonor she would place on the Lord's house. But the Lord had made his decision, and no one was to question it. Though the obvious quite often fell short of the toad demon.

"Rin," the miko agreed.

The Lord's mate would raise the child, having been unable to bear any of her own quite yet. Rin would be a loving and gentle mother for the orphan, being once an orphan herself before being rescued, raised and later mated by Sesshomaru. But Kikyo also knew that the girl's powers would also have to be controlled. The mere fact that Kikyo could not sense her among the dead and even now could not fathom the power of the child, proved that all would have to be involved in the child's upbringing, even….

The miko glimpsed at the demon lord through the corner of her eye. Kikyo couldn't help but smile, inwardly of course, at how the child could possibly have known the demon lord would adopt her. She called him Otou….

-+-

A/N – Me again, you're friendly neighborhood Canuk. It seems CBB is still being read out there so I'm going through each chapter and revising and editing. It may be a slow process, so ignore the bad grammar and mistakes you read, as I am going through and fixing them, though I may miss a few. If anyone wants to be a beta, let me know.

Thanks for all those who enjoyed this story, and don't worry, I have not given up on Search for the Shikon, but The Demons Within Us hit me so hard I had to write it first. I hope to have DWU done by Christmas, depending on life and all that falls in it and then will get back to SftS. To all those that have reviewed and loved my stories, I bow to you and give many humble thanks. You have given me honor, grace and confidence in my works, and I strive even harder to make my stories yours. Eternally yours, WDW.


	2. To Save One's Life

_Crack!_

"Good, very good." Kikyo nodded.

Kagome beamed from the praise given by her mentor and sensei.

Kagome was now eighteen years old, and as such had many years training, and even fighting, with the woman beside her. Kikyo was a stern teacher and rarely passed out compliments. This made Kagome appreciate the praise even more.

Kikyo's arrow had been impaled by her student's arrow, only after her own arrow just pierced their target. "Your aim has much improved and your aura is much better focused on your arrows. I am happy you have kept up your miko studies, considering you have been truant with others."

Kikyo regarded her student on the sly. She has come a long way from the baby they rescued only fifteen years ago. Kagome stood tall and proud, slender but strong. Her blue-black hair reached her middle back, and was tied in a copy as her own. Many had thought they might have been sisters since they so resembled each other, but Kikyo had something Kagome tossed away with a whim, and that was discipline. Although intelligent, witty and agile, Kagome was also wild, passionate and a down right tomboy.

Aside from facial similarities, Kagome was Kikyo's polar opposite. Even down to her clothes. Kagome made it a point to stand out. Today she was wearing boys' pants and a torn shirt that should have been made into rags. This one in particular showed off her toned stomach. The only thing her father could not dissuade her from doing was dressing like a boy after a fistfight, namely because any dress the young Lady of the Western Lands wore would end up in tattered rags by night fall.

Kagome cringed at the rebuke of her lack of study habits, but then shrugged her shoulders. "What is the point of learning geography and poetry? Lands will be fought over and claimed time and time again and their borders changed, and the poets will sing their bloody praises. All I care about is where I am and what I think about now, not have some romantic fool peddle love and death over the most trivial of circumstances that can't be controlled." She cocked another arrow to the string and concentrated on her target once again, a sack filled with hay three hundred feet away.

"I would not have Kaede know your lack of attentions in her lessons. She harbors enough grudges against you for your…sense of humor." Kikyo grinned slightly.

The old tutor, Kaede, was one of the few who stuck around to teach the young woman, and if it weren't for Sesshomaru, Kagome would not allow herself to be taught at all. Leave it for her adopted father to quiz her regularly on everything, and leave it to Kagome wanting nothing more than to please the demon lord.

"It was Kaede's own undoing, thinking moving our classes to the top floor of the manor would keep me from running away from her boring lessons." Kagome let loose the arrow and watched it arc through the air to land a fraction away from her last arrow within the sack. She frowned slightly. She was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to the bow.

"She is an old woman, with enough sense to know a young woman would not jump from a third story palace window just to escape math lessons." Kikyo smiled at her apprentice not unkindly. "But now she knows not to have any sense at all with you around."

Kagome looked at Kikyo appalled and her eyes flashed a violet storm. She was about to argue she jumped into a nearby tree to climb down and it wasn't as bad as it sounded, but her eyes switched quickly into a gray haze as she laughed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"You had better be careful from now on. Lord Sesshomaru is in no mood to put up with any more of your antics. The war against his brother has turned against his favor now that the fox tribe and humans from the eastern territory have joined with InuYasha."

"Otou-san would never allow that bastard to overpower him. And if those idiots follow a selfish savage in battle against him, they will know where the true leader of the people really resides. I, for one, will see to that when I go with Otou-san into battle." Kagome smirked and aimed once again, but her attention immediately turned to the aura coming quickly behind them.

"You in battle? That'll be the day." A laughing growl emitted behind her.

Kagome and Kikyo turned to see a male wolf demon looking cocky back at them a few yards away, eddies of wind fading around him.

In a rush, Kagome let her arrow fly at the wolf boy, who quickly but narrowly missed it as it shot by him.

"Kagome…." Kikyo rebuked.

"What?" Kagome looked innocent, "It was just an arrow. I never even charged it up. And after what he just said, he deserved it. Besides, it's just Kouga, who would miss him?"

Just as well, she wouldn't have hit him anyways. She and Kouga grew up together within the manor. The wolf demons were scouts of the Western Lands. Kouga's father was one of Sesshomaru's most trusted spies and as such he allowed Kouga to 'benefit' from education too, though he quit early on to join the scouts after his father died. Though they were often at odds, since both of them were strong willed, they were close friends. She would never cause him _serious_ harm.

"Ouch, Kagome, that hit me right here." Kouga now stood beside her with his arm around her shoulder, his other arm raised as he patted his heart. "You would not miss me, my love?"

"As much as I would _not_ miss your hot dog breath sniffing my ass in greeting," Kagome laughed, crossing her arms and looking into the feigned hurt eyes of the tall, young man beside her, "I would have to say your presence would be missed, even if all you're good for is bringing home fleas."

He looked down at her and his blue eyes glinted in humor. She never backed down from anything he would dish out at her. He sighed, if only she wasn't the demon lord's daughter. He would make it a point to be the best warrior for Lord Sesshomaru to prove his worth to claim Kagome as his, but until then, he will take pleasure in being with her now, behind the demon lord's back that is.

"You know, I can do more than sniff…" He growled and bit at her.

"Ulgh…. You hentai!" She kicked her leg to knock the back of Kouga's knees and elbowed him in the chest.

"Oi…uffff!" He hit the ground hard on his back. The long brown hair he had tied back in a high ponytail now covered his face.

Kagome bent down and parted the hair. She giggled, and then in a singsong voice said, "Better not have Ayame hear that." She got up and joined Kikyo, who frowned over the whole endeavor.

"Come, Kagome, it is time to learn the medicines." Kikyo glanced down at Kouga who had turned over on his side to look as if he meant to be on the ground, leaning his face on the hand his body rested on. "And you should head back to the barracks."

"Bye, Kouga!" Kagome laughed.

The two women walked away, chatting and laughing quietly, leaving Kouga to silently fume. Ayame was a cute girl who he knew had a crush on him. She was also a wolf demon, but she had a temper, one that could rival Kagome's. But he didn't care for Ayame. She could never amount to Kagome. As he watched the women walk away, Kagome's hips swaying, he grinned a boyish grin. God, he loved that woman.

-+-

"Lord Sesshomaru."

The demon lord looked up from the table he was standing at in the Great Hall. His eyes narrowed on the wolf youkai messenger in front of him. "Speak."

The wolf demon scout bowed low in reverence to his Lord. "The Hanyou has pushed out the eastern army and has taken control of the manor at the river outlet and the surrounding forests. He now has settled there, and his armies have not moved beyond the eastern territory. The few who have not joined with InuYasha have migrated into other territories. The migrants have called for leniency, asking your Lord for mercy and sanctuary. Many have claimed that with it, they will join your army against the savage hanyou."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at the news. He growled in frustration. Having human men join an army where they will be led as lambs to slaughter was pointless. Already the humans who were under his charge have now dominated his own land. Over the last few centuries their population had grown, concerning the Great Lord that they will soon outweigh the demons. The only reason why he tolerated them so far is because they grew food for themselves as well as the demon lord's army and charges.

But now word of a harsh sickness was spreading through their villages, leaving many weak and dying, and few able to gather food for themselves let alone for his forces. Upon hearing the territory the main river was in was now claimed by his worthless half-brother, Sesshomaru realized it had crippled his resources ten fold. Worse, the half-breed had taken over the river manor left by their father. True, Sesshomaru never had care for the manor since it was barely comparable to his own palace, but the principle that the hanyou had taken it over irked him to no end.

His eyes narrowed in suppressed rage, which dripped like venom in his tone, "What need have I to add the frailty of humans to a demon army in a demon war? It is that worthless half-breed who brings men into where they do not belong."

"Hai." The scout replied. "But if I may speak freely?"

Sesshomaru regarded him closely, but tilted his head in acquiescence.

"The hanyou lord has initiated many among his army; human, hanyou and lower demons. Where they are lacking in strength, he has outdone in numbers and stealth. Now with our…your resources minimized, I fear your forces will not last the winter. Especially with the sickness now taking hold and killing many. I believe another tactic will be needed to protect the Western Lands."

The demon lord growled in contempt. But his spy was correct. With the number of humans on his lands, and little in the way of space and resources, thanks to his bastard brother, his own defenses would soon break and worse, will be easily taken once the upcoming winter thawed. Which would mean any enemy could forge past the mountain pass that protected the Western Lands. It was bad enough he had his half-brother as a challenge in the eastern territory of his Lands. He looked at the scout, who stared back in silent discipline.

"Hai," the lord finally nodded. His eyes seemed distant as he thought, quickly forming a plan in his mind. He turned to an Inu sentry standing nearby. "Give the order for the eastern army to fall back, that land is now waste for us to hold onto for the moment. Have them join numbers with the south and north armies. Take as well the human refugees. They may not be useful in the fight itself, but they will be put to use in gathering food. The northern mountains and southern plains still have plenty of resources and protection for the time being. He may have control of the eastern province, but the Western Lands…are still mine." He looked fiercely at the sentry, who bowed and left the hall with the wolf scout.

Looking down at the map in front of him, Sesshomaru skillfully let his mind enact his next move. Before he was able, Kikyo entered the Great Hall.

"My Lord." She bowed. "Please, it is Rin."

His head shot up quickly and he stared the miko down. Not waiting to give any response he moved deftly around the desk and out of the hall. Kikyo was fast on his heels.

He made it to his chambers within the manor mere moments from Kikyo's announcement. He entered his bedchamber and stopped short. The smell of sweat and sickness filled his senses, almost sending him backwards. Healers moved about and out of his way. Going to the bedside of the great down filled futon, he sat to look at the frail human woman laying in it, heavily pregnant in her seventh month.

"Rin," he sighed.

The woman woke from a fever-induced sleep. "Oh Sess," she smiled weakly, her dark eyes looking up at him adoringly. She made a move to get up, but her body was too weak. She laughed airily. "I guess you already know I'm sick."

He swept her dark hair from her wet face, and took a damp cloth from the bedside table to wipe her brow. "I thought you had a slight cold, you should have told me…" Her face was hot to his touch, and his golden eyes looked at her in concern. To everyone else his face was impassive and stern, emotionless and devoid of care, except towards the two women who held his heart, and more so the woman lying in front of him. He loved his mate more than his own land, power and life. He would move mountains on top of one another and place the heavens in her hands if she asked. But all she ever said she wanted was he. Seeing her like this tore at him like a rusty dagger. He had been o busy with battle plans he had not come to her for days. But like the wonderful woman she was, she understood and never rebuked him. Guilt stabbed hard in his chest as he watched her struggle to breathe. He should have been here to take care of her.

Kikyo stood behind him. "She was handling it fine this morning, but the sickness has been progressing, and acts quickly. Rin can easily overcome this, but I fear more for…."

Sesshomaru looked back at the miko, his trademark stoic face apparent, before turning liquid gold eyes full of angst to his mate who sighed deeply.

"Kikyo fears this sickness will kill our baby." Uncontrollable tears leaked out of Rin's eyes. "Oh Sess…" she mouthed, grabbing his hand in her own. She inhaled deeply and whispered, "I can't let our baby die, I'm so scared, I don't know if I can survive losing another one."

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. For years they have tried for pups, but had lost them before they were born. This pregnancy was the first to almost go to term and it was a blessing and a joy in a time of such transgressions. Could he honestly calm his mate with false hopes and wishes? He looked expressionless at the miko again before becoming emotionly strained when he saw that behind her stood his daughter.

Kagome gasped when she saw the prone woman on the futon and had rushed to kneel at her adopted mother's side. She placed her cool hands on Rin's face and wiped away the tears streaming down her mother's flushed cheeks.

"Okaa…" she whispered with child like innocence in her voice. "Oh Okaa-san, it will be all right, Kikyo had just told me of a medicine that can cure this. We will get that and all will be better."

Sesshomaru turned his head quickly to the miko behind him, his golden eyes turned amber in suppressed rage. "What medicine does my daughter speak of? And why has not its reserves been met to alleviate this disease?"

"My Lord," Kikyo bowed, "the medicine in question is rare and now resides in InuYasha's domain. It is the only place by which this plant grows, and we have not the ability to gather it. Even if we did, whatever supply we could gain would never meet the need of all those inflicted. We can only hope to infiltrate and gain back the land to gather said herb, or wait out the illness on its own."

Sesshomaru nodded. "Then tell me where and what it is, and I will return by night fall. I only need enough for one."

"NO!" Rin coughed, trying to reach for him.

Sesshomaru turned to quickly ease his wife down to the bed, hushing her with a low purr-like growl in his chest.

"No," Rin sighed when her coughing eased. "InuYasha's forces know you, he will know you are there, he will kill you on sight. I cannot survive knowing you are in danger. I need you here. I'm scared…" she hiccupped a sob. "I'm so scared." Her heart rate was increasing and her breathing rapid. He could feel the stress being placed on their unborn child.

"Rin…?" Sesshomaru looked at her pleadingly, placing his hands on her round stomach to have her see reason, but knew it was pointless to argue. Rin could be more stubborn than himself, and with her being pregnant and sick, there was no point in argument. There was nothing he could do but wait. His heart fell and the weight of the world felt like it was crashing down on him.

Kagome looked up at her father from her kneeling position near her mother's frame. She never saw him look so weak and sad. It stabbed at her heart and she couldn't breathe.

"Leave." Sesshomaru whispered.

All within the room quickly left their tasks and hustled out of the chamber. Kikyo waited by the doorframe and watched Kagome kiss her mother's brow and turned to hug her father. He squeezed back numbly before letting go. She stood and kissed the top of his silver head before moving beside Kikyo at the doorframe. Kagome looked back for a moment. A hard look grew on her face and a sudden resolve flitted in her eyes.

Kikyo knew this look and grabbed Kagome's arm. She rushed her out of the chambers and out of hearing to all who was around. Swinging around a corner, she finally let Kagome go. She looked into the girl's eyes with all due seriousness. "No."

"Kikyo…." Kagome attempted to explain.

"No, Kagome, you are not going. It would be suicide and worse, if InuYasha found out you were in the eastern territory, he will hunt you himself to claim you as prize and use you against Lord Sesshomaru. There are too many risks. Your father knows this. He would only volunteer himself if he knew the task would end in casualty. He would not send anyone else if the risk was this high. Too much can be lost."

"I know." Kagome looked at her sensei before casting her eyes to the far wall. "Of those losses are Okaa-san and the baby. That is why I must go. I cannot let anyone suffer the loss or look like Otou-san does right now, not when I know I can save them." She looked directly at Kikyo then, her eyes were fierce and pleading all at once, begging for her mentor to understand.

"Kagome…." Kikyo sighed. The look on the girl's face was not good. Unless she was sealed in a room, and knowing Kagome's will it would not be for very long, nothing would deter her from her decision. Kikyo could not even try to dissuade her, not when she herself saw the necessity of the girl to go.

"I am a human, I can easily slip in unnoticed, and I am a woman, even more easily ignored. Aside from those in the manor, no one knows my relation to Otou-san. All anyone could know is that he has a daughter, but what I look like and who I am is a mystery. He has never let me go out of the manor grounds, for gods sake." Kagome huffed in frustration.

Kikyo frowned. "Lord Sesshomaru has only wanted your safety. Beyond the Manor is war and worse. If they found you…."

"If they find me, whom would they think me as? If for some reason I was caught I can say I am getting medicine for the Hanyou's people. I am sure they are under the same sickness."

Kikyo opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it and swept Kagome's arm under her own and led her towards her chambers. Once inside and secure, Kikyo started on her plan.

"You must go immediately, before anyone discovers you're gone. If you ride east by horseback without stopping you will reach the area of the red clover by dawn near the river's mouth. You must bathe in the clothes you will be wearing and use specific herbs to mask the scent of Lord Sesshomaru and the palace. If a demon catches wind of you, you must smell like an ordinary human. You must not use your powers, if anything else, you must suppress them more so. However, to any who possess a strong aura, they will associate you as a miko, you must act so accordingly." Kikyo gripped the girl's shoulders. "Gather as much red clover as you can but escape quickly to the western territory at any sign of danger. Do not talk to anyone or InuYasha will find out of your presence and all could be lost."

Kagome smiled. "It's a big territory, I'm sure I can get in and out unnoticed."

Kikyo frowned and shook her head. "You only know of stories of Lord Sesshomaru's brother. Not all should be taken seriously nor should any be taken lightly. He is strong and he is ruthless. He lacks judgement and acts on instinct. He can be very deadly. If any he or any demon senses you, they may find out what and who you are, and if they do catch you…oh Kagome, don't let anyone catch you, for they will take pride in trying to break you and use you and your powers."

Kagome looked almost nervous, but then confused. "May find out who and what I am and use my powers? Kikyo, what does that mean?"

Kikyo stopped short while she was gathering herbs from a chest for Kagome's bath. No one had ever told Kagome of her past. She only had her own memories and the knowledge that she was rescued and brought here. No one ever told her of the cause of the death of her village. What child could cope with the knowledge that they, in a fit of extreme emotion, destroyed their home and the life in it? They could have told her, let her know what powers she contained, what she was capable of and maybe even train her, but could anyone trust someone with knowledge of that power? Only she and Sesshomaru knew the possibilities contained within this girl. She had abilities, extraordinary abilities, but that was passed off to her as high miko powers, and trained minimally as such. Only during fits of extreme emotion would anything serious occur, and few times had anyone let that happen. It was probably the reason why Kagome got away with as much as she has. But as she grew older, she was in more control of her emotions, and less likely to lose control. Sesshomaru had also made a point to teach Kagome to actively subdue her aura and thus, passively suppress her hidden powers without her knowledge. As for Kagome, all Kagome remembered was watching her mother die, and that the demon lord brought her here and raised her as his own.

It was decided that that knowledge was all she needed to know, and that she would live her life secluded from the fact that she was no ordinary girl or miko, she was a weapon, possibly even the legendary Shikon no Tama. The less she knew, the less harm she could create, either from herself, or someone else. With any knowledge of what Kagome could be, anyone could try to use her, especially InuYasha. Too much war and bloodshed has erupted over power alone with his half brother. To have _all_ turn against Sesshomaru to take his adopted daughter would be too much for any to comprehend.

Kikyo recovered quickly. "The Lord's half-brother could find out who you are - the daughter of his most hated enemy. He could use you as ransom or bait, or force you to do things against your will against your father. Your father should never have to make the choice between you and all under him."

Kagome nodded her head. She could never see her father in pain, and she would rather die than cause him any.

"I will have it look as if you are immersed in your studies and are upset with the Great Lady's illness and wish to be alone. That will buy you time, but you must be back by tomorrow evening, or there will be suspicion."

Kagome nodded and took the herbs handed to her from Kikyo. Minutes later, after more direction was given by Kikyo, a cloaked figure on horseback raced in the growing dark to the sparsely, wooded area beyond the manor. Kagome quickly dunked herself in a pond within a secluded glade and lathered the herbs over her clothing and body. She rinsed and stepped out of the pond, sopping wet. She wrung out quickly whatever she could and not waiting to dry, rode to the open east.

A lone figure stood cloaked behind a high window of the manor and watched her go.


	3. Into the Dog's Den

Kagome wandered most the evening and night, making sure to stay clear of populated areas and camps of her father's army. She easily avoided sentries and spies, stretching her aura to sense demons nearby. Humans were no trouble either, since few would be near areas where these demons would inhabit. The few times she was detected, she was easily ignored. Just as she guessed, a human female was no threat to them.

By late night, she had crossed the Barrens that separated the Western Lands from InuYasha's claim on the eastern edge. The eastern land was mostly forest, with large, tall trees and brush. Many times she had to get off the horse's back to guide and cut away various obstacles. She had become slightly nervous when entering it. The stars were harder to see from the trees' foliage, and she began to wonder if she might be lost. Not to mention this was the first time she had been outside the manor and any in their right mind would be wary.

From Kikyo's directions, she was to keep heading east to reach the gulf of the river mouth. As long as she kept east, she would reach the river and just had to follow it up to its end. But at the moment, she began to worry if she was going east anymore. Thankfully she reached a small open meadow with an old abandoned well and was able to see that she was still going the right way.

She sighed in relief and continued riding, taking notice of a large tree that sent shivers down her spine as if a memory or echo of power erupted from it. Time passed and eventually a noise reached her ears that made her heart skip a beat. It was the sound of rushing water.

She urged the horse on until they broke free of the forest and saw the river. From the light of the moon and stars, she was able to see its easterly direction. By Kikyo's directions, she was to cross it in order to reach the river's north side. From the look of it, its width was no more than a hundred feet, but the middle swirled and looked as if it may be deep. She would have to go down further in order to find a better crossing.

It was almost close to dawn by the time she found a shallow crossing. According to the autumn hours of this time of year, Kagome guessed in another hour the sun should be out. The sky was still black, but a hint of navy blue skirted the eastern horizon. She crossed the river with no trouble, but the water was cold and her legs and feet were going numb from where they were dunked in the crossing.

Once she had reached the north side of the river, Kagome dismounted and patted down her steed, whispering thanks and promises of apples and carrots. The horse flicked his ears and followed as she led them east once again. The river was wider now, and other tributaries were joining it. She was sure she was close to the mouth and the red clover.

Walking warmed up her legs and feet, and as the sky lightened with promise over the summit, she began to feel a bit more dry but uncomfortable. It was now about daybreak when she finally made it into an open grove that opened further on to a field to the north. She needed rest and she ached. She let her horse rest and graze, since it had no bridle or saddle to hinder its comfort, while she settled behind a bush to relieve her self.

She sighed. Looking around the area, it was blue-grey from the dying night. Everything looked surreal. Finishing up, she made her way to a nearby tributary shrouded by small trees and shrubs.

She was tired and looked forward to her bed and a soak in a hot spring when she got home. Shaking her head to wake herself up, Kagome grumbled as it had little effect on reviving her senses. She resignedly knelt down by the water's edge and cupped water in her hands and washed her face. It was cold, but refreshing, just what she needed to revive her numbed senses. Yawning, she leaned back to sit against the trunk of a tree and rested in its shadows, waiting for the sun to climb over the mountains.

She closed her eyes for a moment before a cracking of branches caught her attention. She opened her eyes wide and froze.'Why didn't I sense it sooner?'

A demon aura was nearby, and it was strong. Sensing the air she was relieved to find she was downwind. Turning her gaze up the tributary, she looked at where the aura was coming from. It was heading in her direction, but it was slow, as if walking, and on the opposite side and upstream from where she now hid. She guessed the demon was about fifty feet away, and she knew if she moved it would hear her and know she was there. She covered her self quickly into her brown cloak to camouflage into the trees. She stayed still and prayed the wind would not shift.

From the tree's branches pounced a figure clad in red. As it moved into the open, it stood and stretched and she heard a growling yawn come from it. Turning her head more around the trunk she hid behind to get a better look she nearly gasped. It was a boy with hair almost like Otou-san's, just as long, but whiter and unkempt. Looking more closely she saw movement at the top of his head and noticed he had two pointed, white dog-ears, which were now swivelling as if listening for something. She held her breath and sat still, but keen on watching. He must be an inu demon, like Otou-san, but on closer inspection she knew he was a mix, a hanyou.

Looking at his ears she had to suppress the desire to run up to him and rub them. They were just too cute. His boyish face was a bit stern, but he looked almost cocky and brazen at the same time. He was very handsome, she smiled unknowingly. She bit her lower lip as she tried to control the slight butterflies in her stomach.

Her eyes widened as she watched him and she held in a groan as he stretched his very beautiful form. 'No way am I building a crush on this guy just only seeing him for twenty seconds!'

But then he did the unexpected. He removed his red kariginu along with the white juban underneath, revealing a taut lithe body. His arms looked strong but sleek as well as his chest, and his stomach showed traces of hard abdominal muscles. Everything moved when he moved, and she sat unable to move from the sight. As he stretched again, he bent his back in a perfect arc while lifting his arms high and then ran his fingers through his tangled hair, scratching his head. A low purr like growl emitted from his chest in relaxed pleasure.

Kagome felt her mouth go dry. Her gray eyes turned a deep smoky color and she forgot that she was holding her breath. Letting it go again, she found her breath was ragged and nervous. Her eyes widened more and she suppressed a gasp as she whipped her head back behind the trunk of the tree, just as the inu-hanyou was about to lower his red hakama.

Her mouth dropped in shock and she looked frantically around. She realized then he was going to take a bath, and she would have to stay put until he left or face being caught.

She heard him slip into the water and growl at the cold. He was now only twenty feet away and naked! She closed her eyes, concentrating harder in masking herself so she couldn't be felt by his power, but visions of the naked boy with dog ears flitted in her mind. Snapping them back open she was thankful for the sun's appearance, finally! All the more able to find the red clover and get the hell out of here! Once the boy had left, of course.

She listened as he dunked under the water and came up emitting a guttural growl in displeasure. She smiled uncontrollably and almost laughed. As if his growls would make the water warmer. So far he hasn't felt or smelled her, so her cover must be holding.

She decided she was in no immediate threat and would just enjoy the show and let it be a sweet memory when she left. She slowly turned her head to look back at him. His back was to her and his white hair was slicked back with water. It clung to him like a second skin and looked radiant in the growing light of day. The river was up to his waist and she was almost thankful it covered him…almost. He looked as if he was trying to get water from his ears and he began to shake his body just like one of the hunting dogs at the palace. She put her hand to her mouth to hide a giggle.

When he finished shaking, he dove once again in the water, showing a perfect form of his ass. She blushed furiously but kept an eye on where he was going. She could briefly see his shadow under the water and watched it skim the bottom, only for it to resurface quickly facing her, his head thrown back as he gulped in air. Water skimmed down his face, chest and stomach to catch at the waves from where he immerged. The sun hit him perfectly, showing light golden skin that etched his features even more.

Kagome braced her hands against the rough bark of the tree she was sitting against, fighting the urge in her to touch him. A faint throb echoed in her lower stomach.

'Where the hell did that feeling come from? Oh gods! What am I doing watching a boy like a drooling fool and worse, liking it! I'm turning into the three girls at the manor! Eri, Ayumi and that other one…Yuka. Always boy crazy and here I am!' She cringed at the thought, yet her morals could move her from this spot.

She watched him move to the opposite shore line and turned her head away as he got out and dressed. She was blushing furiously. She may have liked what little she saw, but she was a lady of her father's court (sort of) and even she had morals (sometimes). After a few moments, she chanced a look again and saw him place his red kariginu on, the last of his clothing, and strapped a long rusty katana by his side. His long hair was sopping wet and it dampened his clothing against his back. It was unruly and tangled, but he made no motion to brush it out. It irked her to no end just knowing how bad she wanted to brush it and tangle her fingers through it. But then he jumped into the trees and was gone. She felt his aura fade further away and she sighed and turned to head back to the glade.

At the glade she found her horse and led him further along to explore the field. The forest was to her left, the hidden tributary and the handsome hanyou to her right, leaving the river she was following to the back of her. The sun was bright now and the air was getting warmer. She smiled and basked in the glow of it. She closed her eyes and breathed more deeply as she stretched and welcomed the new day, only to blush at the memories of only a few minutes ago. When she opened her eyes she gasped. The wide field opened up before her, and it was covered in red and green clover. She made it.

-+-

InuYasha jumped from branch to branch, but something was nagging him. He sensed something at the pool he just bathed in. At first it was a jolt of something strong when he arrived, but just as quickly it was gone. He bathed in peace not sensing it anymore, but he couldn't push aside the feeling he was being watched, and once or twice laughed at. He scowled. Whatever it was it was gone now. But just as he moved further away he could finally sense an aura following him.

'That's it!'

Something was there, and he had to know what. Though it did not attack him when he was vulnerable, it didn't detract from the fact that it was there, in his land of all places. Then the aura following him suddenly dropped.

'Shit, now I have to double back and track it, and get rid of whatever felt it had the right to be here.'

He ran back to the river, hidden in the trees. Eventually he crouched in the branches of the tree closest to the water's edge. He sniffed the air. 'Damn!Nothing!'

He circled around, sniffing, until he caught a faint scent. He made his way to a tree on the opposite bank, and knelt to sniff. Someone was here not that long ago. Looking up he growled. He was no more than twenty feet from where they were, why had he not sensed them while he bathed? He growled even more over the fact they were there _while_ he bathed. He followed the scent until he reached a hollow glade. The scent was stronger here, but who ever was the cause was now gone. His eyes narrowed into slits and he shifted into the shadows of the surrounding trees and followed the faint scent now caught on the breeze.

He was getting angry now, but tried to keep it in check. Whoever tracked his aura would sense him and he tried to suppress it to hide himself. Only a few had the capability of masking their auras, among them was himself, his worthless half-brother and now this creature.

He suppressed a growl. Could Sesshomaru be here? No, it didn't stink of him.

He moved quickly until he could no longer hide in the trees. A wide field spread before him, and in it a grazing horse. He frowned. What the hell?

The horse lifted its head and happy laughter tickled his hearing. His pointed ears flicked uncertainly. The horse walked to the left after being pushed and revealed a cloaked figure bent in the weeds. A hood cast over the head and he could not tell who or what it was. Its aura was suppressed, but it moved and acted like he wasn't there.

"Don't tell me weeds are distracting you, my prey?" He whispered and smirked.

He quietly hopped down and swiftly moved towards it. He stopped short and squatted behind a thorn bush when the figure stood. Suddenly the wind picked up and it lifted back the hood, showing a beautiful young woman. Her long black hair shone blue in the sun and parts of it floated like waves on the wind. From what he could see she was smiling and laughing at the horse as she tried to wrestle the weed from the horse's mouth. Her scent was caught in the wind and he finally got a good taste of her. She smelled of mountain rain and sweet blossoms, very soothing and exciting at once.

He ducked lower and watched her, forgetting why he was there in the first place. She was pulling up the red weeds and placing them in a holding bag, roots and all. He frowned. Why would the bitch be doing that?

He flicked his ears back and forth. Was she humming? He moved quietly to stand behind her and listened, and smiled as she began to sing sweetly and softly. He wanted to talk to her, but not sure what to say.

A faint song came to her mind and she felt too happy to hold it in, so she began to hum it, and then sing it. She never sang at home, afraid someone would hear, or worse, ask her to keep singing. Kagome collected as much of the red clover her bag could carry. By tonight Okaa-san would be better, as will many others who will benefit from its medicine. She wondered if she might be able to sneak back here to collect more medicine, after of course making sure Okaa-san was better. She was so caught up in the idea of going home that she never felt the presence behind her until it was too late.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing?" A snide voice erupted behind her.

Kagome jumped and swung around to face the voice and stood stunned. It was the bathing boy, but now he was directly in front of her, and nothing could keep her from gasping from what she saw. Bright golden eyes, like burning lava, stared down hard at her. She had never seen anything so beautiful. They made Otou-san's eyes dull in comparison. She couldn't draw her eyes from his.

He smirked at her gasp, thinking he frightened her and looked at her fully, only to be captured in her violet smoky gaze. She had no fear in her face or scent, but had something else, something more basic and instinctual and innocent. A low purring growl in approval rumbled in his chest and he felt shocked at his reaction.

He unconsciously stepped closer to her and she did not back away, instead she just lifted her head to look up at him. Her scent flooded his senses and he felt drawn to her. He stood only a mere two feet from her now and she still held no fear. What kind of human was she? Normally women would flee from him as soon as they saw him, but this one just stood there, regarding him as if he was a …a what?

He stood taller than her by a head, and she could plainly see he was not much older than her, maybe twenty at the most, but he was no mere boy like Kouga, he was a man, with a look of authority. He was so close to her now she could reach out and touch his hair that was flowing around them. She very nearly did and she flushed slightly, her body glowing in warmth from his gaze, but then remembered he asked something.

"What did you say?" She breathed huskily and blushed as she tried to regain her composure.

He blinked down at her flushed face. He wanted so badly run his fingers across her cheeks and then tangle them through her silky hair. Her arousing voice brought him out of that daze into a deeper, primal level, as he smelled her heat. But his rational mind was nagging him. He asked her something?

He jumped to his senses and crossed his arms furiously and looked away, embarrassed. "Keh! I just asked what you were doing, Bitch."

Upon hearing his rude remark her eyes narrowed. 'Who did he think he was, calling me that?'

All delusions she had of him up to that point faded quickly and her eyes turned to steel. She crossed her own arms and looked up at him with fierce pride. "Wait…. What did you call me?"

He could sense her subdued heated arousal turn to ice cold opposition. He didn't understand what he did to cause that sudden change. He looked back at her confused. "I called you a bitch, Bitch." What was she getting off topic for? All females were bitches. In Inu terms it could be held as a sign of endearment.

The girl glowered and nodded her head, the tension easing in her body. "That's what I thought."

InuYasha closed his eyes and smirked. It was about time she got it in her head. He was worried she wasn't all that bright when in fact it was just she wasn't sure she heard him. He was about to follow up with the original question when he heard a sharp yell and he found himself flat on his back, staring up at blue sky. 'What the hell happened?'

Kagome walked away from him towards her horse, fuming. 'Serves him right for calling me such a horrid thing, he's lucky he just got booted on his ass.'

"Oi! Wench, what did you do that for?" The hanyou shouted and came to stand before her, his hands fisted as if asking for a fight.

"It's the least of what you deserve after what you called me!" She shouted back at him.

He opened his mouth in shock. No one has ever yelled back at him, especially considering whom he was and the power he controlled. He stood stunned as she walked past him to get on the horse behind him.

In a huff of hurt pride he turned and grabbed her arm to have her face him again, trying to ignore the electric feeling he got when he touched her warm forearm. "Hey!"

She looked up at him furiously, and yanked her arm from his grasp. Normally anyone else would back down and be reasonable with this look, but she knew the hanyou in front of her was too pigheaded and too much of an ass to have any common sense. "What!"

He looked down at her and stopped. He didn't know what to ask, and he was too mad to care. He wrenched her bag from her and flipped it onto his own back and turned to walk away from her.

Kagome stood shocked. 'He just took my bag! What the hell was the matter with him?' "You just took my bag! What the hell is the matter with you?" she yelled.

InuYasha turned his head to look back at her, still walking away. "I'm taking back what's mine, Bitch!"

Whatever use he had for weeds he didn't know, but for some reason, getting a rise out of this girl was causing him to feel hyper and stimulated, especially since the heat from her anger spiked her scent to send torrents of chills to his very core. It was fun, but more so, he was feeling something he never felt before and it invigorated him to no end. She was truly a woman not turning his back to.

He was immediately pushed over when the girl jumped onto his back and he landed hard on his front. "What the fu…!"

The girl bonked him on the head while straddling his back before she reached for the bag and wrenched it from his grasp.

"Baka!" She griped as she moved to stand up, only for her to be grappled to the ground with the hanyou on top of her.

He growled down at her, his warm breath heavy and his eyes glinted in excitement. _Definitely_ cannot turn your back on this one. His face was so close to hers he could smell her sweet breath. Her scent was more stimulating now with the adrenaline that was beginning to stir in her.

He inhaled instinctually and closed his eyes. His body felt on fire. He never felt more alive and he wanted more. It felt like something was pulsing from her, beckoning him in. His hands gripped hers in an effort for control and he felt the bag in her right hand. His eyes snapped open. He nearly forgot about their game. He grabbed the bag and got up to run towards the forest line over a hundred meters away.

Kagome lay there for a moment, shocked at the tingles she felt from his touch that seemed to travel to the pit of her abdomen. She instinctually wanted to press her body against his before he jumped up from her. Realization that he took the bag again made her loathe the feelings she just had and her lust turned quickly to fury. She watched him move quickly towards the forest and she knew she could not catch him on foot so she whistled loudly.

The whistle itself caught the hanyou's attention and he stopped to turn and look at her questionably, like a lap dog wondering what his master wanted. She couldn't help it. She laughed out loud only to get her attention back at hand as her horse cantered by her side. Kagome gripped its withers and hopped on to give chase.

The dog demon's eyes widened when he watched the girl jump bareback onto an already running horse. What can't she do? He felt a pull in his loins when he saw her tighten her leg grip on the animal but he controlled it as the girl gave chase after him. He turned and smiled excitedly as he ran to the tree line again. The sound of hooves behind him was quickly gaining.

He knew he could run laps around the horse, but he wanted to give the girl a chance and let her draw up beside him. He was about to turn to grin up at her before rushing ahead, but a warm hand had reached out and caressed his right ear, sending waves of pleasure in his body. Shocked at her bold move he tripped and somersaulted amongst the clover, dropping the bag in the process.

Kagome laughed again. For some reason she couldn't stop smiling. She had only wanted to feel his ear, but it had turned out better than she thought. She turned her horse quickly and leaned over to grab the bag and ran again away from the tree line.

Recovering quickly from his misstep, he landed in a defensive crouch. The girl once again had the bag and was gaining distance from him. He growled and smiled lustfully, fangs apparent as he became too caught up in the game.

He ran full tilt and jumped to land behind the girl on the horse. He gripped his thighs to the horse's back and grasped his right arm around her waist, pressing his body firm against hers. The shared rocking motion of their hips in tune to the horse's movement was making his blood boil and surge in places he never knew existed. Her skin was glowing with excited sweat and she smelled even more sweet and wild.

He couldn't help his next action even if he tried. He licked from the curve of her shoulder to behind her left ear and reveled in her aroused gasp. He threw his head back in rapture, baring his fangs in the rushing wind. The taste of her sent shocks through his body to settle in his groin. The tang of salt, wind and female musk flooded over him. He wanted so badly to grab her and lick her all over, desiring to know what else she tasted like and where. 'Gods! What was this woman doing to me?'

In the brief time he sensed her he was already addicted and wanted to drown in her completely. Whatever train of thought he was about to have after that stopped short as the horse suddenly reared.

Kagome had felt him land behind her and she smiled uncontrollably when his arm grasped and tighten her against him. She then noticed he had claws, which skimmed lightly over her exposed skin of her waist, sending even more thrills through her. She felt wet all over and was excited and confused at the same time.

She was about to maneuver into her next move when he licked her. She gasped in stunned pleasure and lost whatever resolve she had then to be rid the man behind her. But her modesty and shyness made her hesitate and she pulled a drastic measure. She yanked her horse back suddenly and it reared up, dumping both of them on the ground as the horse shot off across the field. Kagome landed on her back on top of the hanyou and heard him cough as the wind was knocked from him. She lay there stunned for a moment before she rolled over quickly to sit up and look down at him. His eyes were closed and she was worried she knocked him unconscious. 'Well serves him right, but still….'

She stroked his cheek gently. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked softly with concern.

He turned his face towards her voice and the touch of her hand on his cheek. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up into hers. "That was a stupid move, moron."

Kagome scowled and swatted his nose.

He grabbed his sensitive nose and looked up at her to give a threatening look, but she was already up and stalking away from him, muttering something under her breath about _'stupid jerks'_ and _'no matter how cute their ears are'_. He sat up, only to realize that he had grabbed the bag before she threw them from the horse. His eyes glinted and quickly he ran to the tree line again, only to hear her yelp in realization and ran after him. He was already lost in the trees before she came huffing up to them.

She scanned the trees and scowled. 'That ass, what the hell?'

She sighed. The day wasn't getting any longer and she had to get back. She began to scold her self for allowing him to get her back up and even worse, enjoy chasing him around in this twisted game of fetch. She had a mission and no way was this dumb mutt going to win. She scanned the trees once more before letting out an exasperated breath as she finally made up her mind. She closed her eyes and let her aura surround her, then flit out into the forest, until she could touch his aura. She frowned. He was suppressing his aura, not enough to say he wasn't there but enough for him to be hard to find. How had he learned to do that? She had to train for years from Otou-san to reach the level she was now. She scanned againAhh… she sensed him.

InuYasha hid within the branches of a nearby tree. He could barely see her through the foliage, but enough to know she was there. He grinned. She was looking into the trees trying to find him but it soon looked as if she might have given up. She had closed her eyes and just stood there, looking quite annoyed.

Then he felt it, a warm wave of her aura touched him then passed. He leaned against the trunk transfixed. How was she able to do that? It passed over him again and rested on him. 'Shit! How did she find me?'

The aura lapped over him in a coaxing caress and he could smell her in the wind. It was so gentle and soft, her aura personifying what the girl really was like, intriguing and enticing him even more. He moved quietly through the branches closer to her, trying to dull his own aura repeatedly, sometimes losing hers before she found him again. He stood on a branch above her and again her aura caressed him, before it faded and she looked up at him.

"You are a miko," he simply stated.

Kagome never cast her eyes from him. "Yeah." No sense covering that up, since he could feel her just as readily as she now felt him. "And that bag contains the very lives of our people."

He dropped from the branch to land in front of her, holding the bag to his side. "What do you mean?"

"An epidemic is raging across the territory, and many are sick and dying. The clover can be used to ease the symptoms and save countless." She reached for it only to have him draw it further away from her.

He looked at her completely now, scanning his eyes up her. She wore high leather boots, and it became apparent it was the only normal thing she wore. He scanned his eyes up her pant clad legs, torn up shirt that showed a nice amount of tanned, trim tummy, and a travelling cloak, that roughly hid the bow and quiver of arrows behind her back. He settled on her face, now curtained by black tendrils of loosened hair. It was flushed and annoyed. Her eyes were a violet gray, sparkling and alive, and very much a fountain of emotion.

"You don't look like a miko." He quirked an eyebrow at her apparel as he looked her over once more.

"Well, I'm sorry. My chihaya is at the tailors and I left my hibakama on my other horse." Kagome rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't dress to impress and since people are sick and dying as we speak can you give me back my bag so I can go make them better? Or do you want me to kick your ass again?"

InuYasha raised the other eyebrow at her, stunned. "Kicked my…?" Then he grinned. This woman was a hell fire and a cool summer wind all in one. He looked down at her, his eyes once again flickering over her body appreciatively though his expression held a tone of indifference. "I'll make you a deal…." He began.

"No." Kagome cut him off.

"You don't even know what I'm about to say!"

"Don't care, give me the bag."

"No! Not until you hear my deal!"

"No, give me the bag."

"Deal first." He tossed the bag up into the tree and it clung to one of its higher branches.

Kagome scowled at him. "You jerk!" She turned and walked away from him and began to climb the tree.

InuYasha watched her go up in surprise then admiration. He smirked and crossed his arms. "I'll give you the bag it you do one thing for me."

"No." Her voice in the tree said.

"You have to realize that you are taking my property and with that you have to face the consequences." He closed his eyes and acted haughty as he leaned up against the trunk of the tree she now climbed.

"What are you getting on with? _Your_ property? This land will be here when you're dead and gone, your body becoming one with it. If anything, you belong to this property." Her voice sounded higher up in the branches.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it. He never thought it that way before, but easily dismissed it. "I grew up in this forest. It, and all around it, is mine, including what is in that bag. You want it, you have to give me something in return."

"Listen, Baka." A grunt and a hiss erupted from a branch overhead as a result from a scrape that will sting for a few days. "Contrary to popular belief, the life of a miko is not as rich and glamorous as it sounds. What you see of me is what you get."

"Deal." He said.

"WHOA! WAIT! WHAT!" The sound of breaking twigs and small branches erupted and InuYasha leapt up to catch a falling miko. Landing softly on the ground, the girl in his arms looked up at him in shock, then anger.

"That is not what I meant and you know it!" She pushed herself out of his arms to stand before him in fury.

He started to brush leaves and bark from her hair, but she pushed his hands away in frustration.

"It's too late, I have made my choice, if you want to leave with your medicine, you have to give me you in exchange." He smirked and crossed his arms.

"And what pray tell, oh mighty forest lord, will you do with me?" She shook her head. "Forget that, I'm not even going to entertain this conversation." She turned to climb up the tree again.

InuYasha raised his eyebrows, _mighty forest lord_, sounds good, especially coming from her lips. He ignored her last retort and reached out without looking and grabbed her arm. "I claim you as mine, from that I shall do as I please with you."

"Excuse me?" Kagome snorted, turning towards him, eyes widened in denial. "Do as you please…what do you mean claim me? You can't claim me!"

"I can and I have." He crossed his arms and looked down at her, his eyes narrowing in pride and domination. The authoritative presence was apparent in his stance. "For an inu demon lord, to claim a mate is an honourable binding. You agreed by stating you are what I get in exchange for taking my property. You are now honor bound to me."

"You are so full of it." Kagome laughed and dusted herself off. "Now get my bag, 'mate'."

"'Kay." He smiled and jumped up into the branches and retrieved the bag and brought it down and handed it to her. "I trust you will uphold our honorable agreement."

"Wait…." Kagome looked up at him as she retrieved the bag, and her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

InuYasha glared down at her and frowned. "Yes. This is no joking matter. I bind you to your word and give you what is in this bag and in the field and in my forest and in my domain, as long as you are bound to me."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, but she knew that what he said was true, well, true enough if she was a demon. By being a demon lord's daughter, she would have to uphold this agreement, but that was only if this hanyou was a true lord. But seeing as this land was really Sesshomaru's, now in the _temporary_ hands of his half-brother, (someone she sure was, even though evil, a warrior and a domineering presence, a stark contrast to this guy), whatever delusion this half inu demon had was false. In other words, he had no real claim of this land or anything in it. Thus could not bind her to her word, or lack there of, and any agreement she makes with him now would be null and void once he knew what her real standing was, if ever he knew.

So she could technically promise him her self, hell she could promise him the moon, but unless he did truly own this land, he would have no real claim to her. But since this land was and will be again Sesshomaru's, he had nothing to hold her to. She looked up at him and smiled.

InuYasha looked over her. She was thinking, and the look on her face was starting to worry him. For the brief time he has known her, he has felt nothing but fascination, want border lining on need, and best of all, a challenge. She has proven herself to be very interesting, and she was beautiful on top of that. He has never wanted anything more, neither land or power, than this woman standing in front of him now. Yes, he will delight in having her as a mate and claiming her as his own. She will be his. She smiled at him and he looked down at her cautiously, tilting his head slightly as if to rise again in another challenge.

"So you are telling me, lord and master of mine," she smiled sarcastically, "that if I agree to become your mate, everything you own will be mine?"

"Yeah." He nodded at her.

"And what, pray tell, is that exactly?" She crossed her arms and smiled as if to hold back a laugh.

"I own this forest, and the surrounding areas." He moved to stand directly in front of her and looked down at her annoyed, hadn't he just told her that?

"And because I am taking from _your_ land, I am honour bound to give you what you ask?"

"Yes, but after you become my mate, you will not have to give me anything, since what is mine, and will be mine, will be yours." He looked down at her and growled, "but being my mate entitles me to certain…perks."

"Perks?" She looked up at him truly confused, and then realization dawned on her. "Oh my gods, you don't mean…?"

He just grinned.

Kagome's face reddened and her eyes flashed a dark violet. She was like a volcano ready to erupt and she spewed forth her fury. "I don't know who the hell you think you are thinking I am _that_ type of girl, but you will get another thing coming to you if you think I'm just going to ... to… you Hentai!"

She shoved him away from her, but he caught her wrists and brought her against his chest, and she blushed uncontrollably. He growled furiously and her eyes widened as she stared up at him.

"I don't know what you think I am, but when I choose to mate, I mate for life. You will be my first and only, and you to me. I will protect you with my life, and you will never want for nothing. That is what you are bound to." He did not let go, but he did relax his grip on her wrists when he rested her hands against his chest by his heart.

Kagome opened her mouth and then shut it. For the first time in her life she was speechless. But quickly and sadly she realized the stupidity of this argument. He did not own anything, and whether he believed it or not, she was bound in no way to him, agreement or not. But the medicine was important and the day was getting late. If she was going to be back by sun down, she must go now, and no more wasting time with handsome hanyous or pretend proposals. It was making her heart ache over the inconceivable. She was getting tired of this and if letting him get his jollies by thinking he had claimed her so she can take the clover back, so be it.

"Sure, fine, whatever." She sighed and let loose her hands from his.

"So you have agreed to be my mate in exchange for these weeds?" He looked at her, expecting another fight.

"Yeah, but you must give me a week, to be able to administer the medicine and perform my _miko duties_." She thought of quickly. More than enough time to be back home, in the safety of the Western Lands and enough time for her scent to be hard to track, if he is crazy enough to look for her. If he did find where she went, he would have to give her up realizing he would have to face Sesshomaru. Her heart ached at the thought of never seeing him again, but she was now desperate, she had to go.

He smiled and nodded. "Okay. One week, then I will come for you."

"You do that," Kagome said distractedly, turning back to the field to look for her ride. She whistled shrilly, and smiled softly at the growl and the flattened ears on the hanyou's head.

As the horse drew into view, Kagome felt his hand take hers and he turned her around. She looked up at the half demon in annoyance only for it to be melted away by the look on his face as he leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss was soft, chaste and lingering. Kagome couldn't help but close her eyes and get lost in it. Her first kiss. She brought her hands to his chest then upwards to slowly wrap them around his neck. He complied by folding his arms around her back and tightened his hold, gripping into her cloak with his clawed fists. Soft, shy kisses were repeated before more adventurous kisses took hold, sucking of lower lips and slight tasting as tongues explored opposite mouths, never entering but always teasing. Soft moans and gasps emitted from their kisses, which left them breathless. They broke away and looked at each other, eyes glazed and cheeks blushing furiously.

Kagome stepped back and looked down shyly, pressing her cool fingers against her full throbbing lips. She timidly looked up at the boy, who was standing there looking in a daze at her.

Her horse was beside her now and she dumbly lifted herself onto its back, and secured the bag around her. The dog demon was still watching her in a haze, not really comprehending what she was doing. Kagome smiled down at him, and turned her horse to the river for the trip home. Tears threatened to flow from her eyes as she thought she would never see the hanyou again. She never even got his name. But it was better this way. She secretly hoped he would come for her, but if he did not, she would never forget him.

InuYasha watched her go, his heart flying and breaking at the same time. One week would be a long time, but his face still showed the expression that melted the girl's resolve as he kissed her; love and absolute joy. She agreed to be his mate. She was not afraid or repulsed by him. She treated him not like a monster, or a half-breed, but as an equal and kissed him like…. He could still taste her and he licked his lips. There was no way she was ever going to get rid of him. In one week, he will have the world.

And for some reason the area where the kiss took place looked brighter and more alive, not noticed by the two lovers as they parted from it.


	4. Honor Bound

It had been one week and one day. Within that time Kagome had made it back to the Western Land, for the most part, undetected. She had given Kikyo the clover and collapsed in her bed, and did not move until noon the next day. When she had awoken, Rin's illness took a turn for the better, and the baby within her still moved and kicked with strength. Sesshomaru was happy, in his own way, and never questioned where the clover came from. Elderly and small children in the vicinity were given the left over medicine, and the people were getting back on track. So for the last week and one day, all was in the clear. Her lessons continued on with no _real _disruption, other than a few magic "mishaps" and Kouga kidnappings, all of which she dealt with before.

Life was back to normal. But at times, she did wonder about the white haired boy with dog-ears. She would smile without reason, which would make Kikyo ponder just what the girl had been up to. Other than that, all was as it should be for one week and one day.

Until all hell broke loose.

Kagome was letting her mind wonder in math tutorials and Kaede was lecturing her on her conduct, which easily passed beyond Kagome's ears, only for a commotion outside the third floor window to catch her attention. Kagome leapt up from where she was sitting to glance down to see what was going on. Sentries, guards and messengers were running every which way, and nothing was in real order. Chaos had erupted and she could not see the cause. Kagome spun from the window and ran to the door and out, ignoring the calls of her frustrated tutor. She ran down the corridor and down the flights of steps that would lead to the Great Hall, only to be grabbed and stopped by Kikyo at the bottom.

"What have you done?" The older miko hissed.

She led a confused Kagome from the stairwell and away from the doors of the Great Hall where shouts and crashing furniture had sounded off the walls.

"Kikyo, what has happened? Otou-san?" She called as she reached back towards the doors.

Kikyo shushed her and pulled her further down the corridor to the back of the manor. "Lord Sesshomaru can handle his brother fine without your assistance. But without your assistance, Sesshomaru would not have to make the Great Hall a battle ground to begin with!"

Kagome looked at the miko dumbfounded. "What has happened? InuYasha is here? Why? Have the Western Lands been seized?" When her sensei did not respond, Kagome replied weakly, "Oba-san…please, tell me what has happened. What did I do?"

Kikyo looked at her and her hardened expression turned to sadness. She was about to respond when Jaken entered the room.

"Come, you dumb girl, Lord Sesshomaru has called for you."

Kagome did not even retaliate against the toad demon. Her heart was thundering in her chest and fear gripped her. Otou-san was mad at her and she didn't know why. Had he found out she went and got the clover against his will? She followed Jaken to the closed, yet now oddly warped doors of the Great Hall. Kagome quickly tried to fix her hair, which was tied in a high pony tail, and her clothing, which now consisted of her boots, dusty pants, inconspicuously covered by a tied shawl in an attempt to make a skirt (and hide the dirt), and a ruffled juban, too big for her, that rested off one of her shoulders. She sighed and stood tall. She set her chin high and waited for her father to call her in. He always told her to hold her head high and never look like she was to accept defeat. Though she has caused his displeasure now, she was not about to lose what he has held pride in her for.

Within moments that felt like hours, she heard him call for her. Jaken opened a door to let her through. She walked in purposeful strides, keeping her eyes on her father in the middle of the now destroyed Hall.

She stood a few feet from him and bowed. "Lord Sesshomaru, I have come."

Her adopted father's golden eyes looked at her in a stoic glance. Kagome wanted to flinch. Never has Otou-san ever looked at her like that, never did she not see the love and pride he had for her. The look in his eyes was now cold and distant. She cast her eyes down in humility.

He growled at her and turned away, making her heart break in a thousand pieces. A snicker erupted to the right of her. She turned to address the ass that would dare laugh at the rebuke from her father, only to look upon the hanyou from the forest holding a dramatically big sword.

"What are you doing here?" She asked without thinking. Then it all dawned on her… 'Oh shit….'

A terrifying roar emitted from her father along with a crash as a table was smashed against a stone wall. Kagome's and InuYasha's eyes left each other to look at the demon Lord who now turned to them in iron cast fury.

"Explain." The Lord of the Western Lands breathed hard at his daughter.

"I told you, you deaf Bastard, your…daughter…is mine." The Hanyou placed a now transformed katana into its sheath.

"Not from you, you worthless half-breed, HER!" He pointed at Kagome.

Kagome looked from the hanyou to her father. She resigned defeat. She could never lie to him, so she told her story from the moment she left the sick bed of Okaa-san to the handing of the clover to Kikyo. She told him about her agreement with the hanyou, her reasoning (amongst the fits and swearing of the hanyou when he realized just what was going on through her mind when she made the agreement), and her flight back home. She was wise to leave out the watching him bathe and kissing him parts. She did not feel they were really relevant to the story anyways.

When she had finished, the room was quiet. She did not look at either of them, but closed her eyes realizing what she had done. The boy she promised herself to was InuYasha, her father's half brother, but more so, his enemy and the enemy to their people. She paled at the thought. She looked at Sesshomaru and waited, hoping whatever words would come would resolve the horrid mistake she made and set things right. Instead, he turned to InuYasha and nodded.

"Keh! About fucking time!" InuYasha huffed. He made to grab the girl, but Sesshomaru stopped him.

"No."

"What do you mean no? You heard her. We made a pact, an honourable agreement. She is bound to me." He crossed his arms again.

Sesshomaru looked at his half-brother in contempt. "You do realize the bindings of that agreement, do you not?"

"Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "By mating with her, what is mine is hers."

"Yes, and what becomes hers, becomes mine."

"WHAT!" InuYasha jumped forward.

Sesshomaru held up his hand. "She is not my true daughter, but I have raised her as such and she is, in essence, mine to give. She has made an agreement, although a most ignorant one," Kagome cringed, "and she has become bound to you. So what is yours is now hers. What is hers now is mine."

InuYasha opened his mouth to yell some more, then stopped. "But what is hers is also mine. We become one as mates."

"Indeed." Sesshomaru nodded. "This agreement, though not welcome, has turned to both our favor. We are now joined, and thus share…certain attributes."

"What is it you want, you fucker?" InuYasha growled, and gripped his hold on Tetsusaiga harder.

Ignoring the insults and uncouth behaviour of his younger brother, Sesshomaru continued. "Nothing than what I already have; the Western Lands, my resources, and my power. All I want is to keep them, without you tainting it and tearing it up. As for the Tetsusaiga," his eyes flicked to Kagome briefly before centering on the hanyou, "I leave in your hands at the moment."

"Fine, I already have what I want - the forest and the river manor, something that was mine from the start, as well as Tetsusaiga. I have no need of your shit, now that I won what was mine from the beginning." His eyes narrowed, only to look at Kagome and eyed her with malice. "No, I have something more. Something of yours, and I will make good use of it."

Kagome looked at him and scowled. She cast her determined eyes at Sesshomaru. "Otou-san, honestly, you two cannot be serious about this?"

Both demons growled, drowning out her complaints.

"You made an honorable agreement. If you should break it, Kagome-sama, I will cast you from my house and my memory." Sesshomaru seethed.

Kagome stood shocked.

"I have things to discuss with your mate. Kikyo will help you pack your belongings. Tomorrow you will leave with your mate." He turned from her in dismissal.

Kagome wanted to scream, to hit something, do anything to stop what had just happened, but she just bowed. Turning from Sesshomaru, she gave InuYasha a murderous look that made him step back unconsciously, and walked out of the room. The door closed behind her with the sound of arguing, mostly from InuYasha, echoing in the Hall. She looked at the miko who was waiting there for her. They both walked in silence to Kagome's chambers.

-+-

One week. That was how long ago he found the perfect mate. One week ago he saw the perfect beauty, the perfect miko, the perfect match for him. As he ran past fields, forest and waterways, InuYasha only stopped to direct himself. Her scent was cold, but his sensitive nose could easily find that perfect smell. She was heading west. As he ran, his mind pondered over the last week, and the preparations of making the perfect home for her. He had made sure the manor was clean and everything a Lady of the court could want would have. No more pants for her! The finest kimonos were now available for her selection. He almost couldn't wait the whole week. He often tortured himself by sniffing the forest in an attempt to _accidentally_ find her, but she had moved farther than he thought she would go. But today was the last day, today he was going to find her and bring her home. _Home_. He loved to think about that. He was bringing her home. It was going to be perfect.

The last few nights for him were restless. The thought of their perfect kisses haunted him, tantalized him, made him think and dream things he never could have imagined. His basic and primal instincts surged with excitement when he thought of finally having her with him. All the ways he could pleasure her and please her. It was just perfect.

He breathed in deep and smiled. Finally! Her scent was getting stronger and he crashed through brush to land in a barren wasteland, only to smell that the scent led to the Western Lands…Sesshomaru…just perfect.

He had spent half a day in turmoil. Why would she be in the Western Lands? Was she captured? Was she a spy? Was she hurt and she had to go? Questions led to more questions, but it never swayed from the fact she was there, and she had to be taken back. She agreed after all. She kissed him after all. No woman would kiss him like that and not feel something for him. Right?

By dawn he made his decision and infiltrated the Western Lands. It was not until he followed the scent to the manor of his half-brother did he make himself known. Such a flurry of activity occurred as Sesshomaru allowed him in.

"Why are you here?" The pompous ass asked him.

"Someone here is honour bound to me. I have come to claim her." InuYasha stated matter of factly.

"And _she_ is…?"

He didn't know for sure. But her scent was all over this place, and very strong on his half-brother. He told the bastard as much.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, then narrowed in realization. He lunged at InuYasha with hurt pride and broken trust.

InuYasha was stunned at first as he defended himself. Why so much rage and hostility? Was the girl a secondary mate? From the smell of her a week ago, neither Sesshomaru nor any male claimed her. She didn't even smell of Sesshomaru, compared to how much he could smell her all over his older brother. But he could also smell a stronger, more dominating scent of a pregnant woman on Sesshomaru. She would most likely be his mate, but what of _his_ girl? Why was she so important to his worthless pig headed brother?

"Oi, you Bastard! What the fuck are you doing?" He managed to yell out between blows. "If she is claimed as your beta, I will fight for my claim on her!"

Sesshomaru's normally impassive face showed revulsion and distaste and he attacked two fold. Okay, so this girl wasn't his brother's "mate" material. So what was she that would make him go feral?

Enough of this shit! He unsheathed Tetsusaiga and prepared to envelope the room in its power.

Sesshomaru widened his eyes at the sword's transformation and halted his next attack. "You will explain to me why my daughter is honor bound to you."

'_Oh Shit'_ "Daughter?"

Sesshomaru did not give him an explanation; instead the insane demon lunged again towards him, releasing a poisonous whip from his razor like claws.

While they fought, InuYasha managed to tell what he knew of the story, about the girl who got the red weed, who agreed to give herself to him in exchange for it, and her pact to retrieve her in a week. He left out her watching him bathe and kissing her. He did not want to increase his half brother's fury against him, especially with the matter of his brother's pup. That still needed to be explained. The girl had no demon in her what so ever, how could she be his daughter? He began to worry that he would have to retract his claim. No way could he marry his niece. That was just sick.

With the story concluded, Sesshomaru had calmed slightly enough to allow a brief truce between them. He called out and a woman entered wearing priestess robes. He had told her to retrieve 'Kagome.' The older miko looked familiar. Her long black hair cascaded in a perfect line down her back and her eyes seemed deep and cold. He had almost rushed to her thinking she was his potential mate if it wasn't for her age and snotty appearance.

Minutes later Sesshomaru told a toad demon to tell this 'Kagome' to come in. A moment after that, she entered.

It was her, finally! She was stunning, still not clothed like a lady, but he would fix that. She still carried an air of brazenness and pride, only to cast her eyes down in shame when Sesshomaru looked at her. He laughed. He would have to ask his brother how he did that. She shot him a stony glance before recognizing him. He couldn't pull his eyes from her until his brother started having another hissy fit.

When Sesshomaru asked for her side of the story, he felt betrayed and hurt that she did not really agree to him, but thought he was a worthless hanyou with no real power to make his claim honorable. He cursed and yelled, but she just ignored him, which hurt him doubly and made him angrier. Once her story was over he thought for sure Sesshomaru would break the agreement as her guardian, but he did not. He agreed to the claim, only to fuck it up with legalities.

_Shit._ Now that he was claimed to Kagome, he would have to share what was rightfully his with his ass fucker of a brother. He groaned. But there was an upside. She was not Sesshomaru's legitimate child, and he almost sighed visibly in relief. The girl, Kagome, even with her added annoyances, was still his, and his heart ached with need and unhindered want. He couldn't wait to finally grab her and get the hell out of here. And most of all, he couldn't wait to yell at her for neglecting to tell him about all this.

He watched her leave the Hall, but not before she shot him a look that made him stumble back in worried fear. He gulped. First things first, she will learn to respect him.

As the door closed behind her, he turned to the formidable demon Lord. She will spend the day preparing to go. He will spend it forming a long needed peace with his brother.

-+-

Kagome sat in her room and watched as it was packed up all around her. Her clothes, her weapons, her books and jewellery she never wore. Everything was being packed away into crates. It was then she realized the seriousness and finality of it all. She felt numb and quiet. Kikyo was busy instructing the packers, only once in awhile chatting with her. Everything felt unreal, like this was a bad dream and she would soon wake and forget about it. Only this wasn't a dream, and she was living a nightmare.

She stood to go look out the large bay window of her room and just watched the day turn to dusk, dusk to night.

She jumped when Kikyo touched her shoulder. When she turned, everything was gone, only furniture and bedding remained. It was stripped completely bare. Kagome just stood there and looked, unaware of the tears streaming down her face.

Kikyo watched her, and gathered her in her arms and held her while the girl, that for years was a pinnacle of strength, cry for a world being taken from her. Kikyo hushed and soothed, but all she could do was wait for the girl she helped rescue and raise calm on her own and relax.

Kikyo looked in her dull gray eyes and wiped away the left over tears. "This is not goodbye."

Kagome nodded and sniffed.

"He will always love you, Kagome, he will always come for you when you need him."

Kagome sighed and smiled. Otou-san would never neglect her, but he would not come for her, she knew that. Her childhood was now gone. Tomorrow she will be InuYasha's mate. In demon terms, mates outweighed the power of the parent. Otou-san would uphold that ideal.

Kagome pulled herself from Kikyo's arms and walked to the door where she paused. "Where is everything?"

"Everything is packed, unfortunately…."

"Unfortunately?"

"Both Sesshomaru and InuYasha agreed when they saw how much was packed that what was here will be left here, only a select few items will go with you." Kikyo explained.

Kagome narrowed her eyes and growled at the mention of the Hanyou's name. "Such as?"

This time Kikyo frowned in annoyance. "Medicinal herbs, a few books, the clothes on your back…only what can fit in this bag."

Kagome opened her mouth in shock at the sight of the yellow tote bag. "That's not much at all, how am I to leave my home and not have anything?"

"I think their mentality was this was no longer your home, and none here is yours anymore."

Kagome winced and stepped back as if slapped.

Kikyo sighed. "I already put what you need in here, as well as my best bow and quiver full of arrows. You never know." She smiled sadly.

Kagome looked at her adopted aunt, teacher and friend. She ran towards her and hugged her again. "Thank you."

Kikyo just nodded as she released the girl and ushered her to the doorway. "Come, let us get some food in you. You've had a hard day."

They both walked out of the room and towards the dining area on the lower level. Kagome hadn't eaten since breakfast, and though she wasn't hungry now, she did need food.

When they reached the dining area, Kagome saw it was empty and she was grateful. She gingerly sat on a cushion on the floor in front of the low table and waited for Kikyo to return with a few things for them to eat. She wasn't alone long.

"Kagome?"

She turned to face him slowly but could not look into his eyes. "Yes, Kouga?"

The wolf demon came to sit next to her. "Is what I hear true? Are you to be mated to InuYasha?"

Kagome couldn't speak. She just looked down at the table and nodded.

Kouga growled and leapt up. He grabbed whatever he could and threw it hard in every direction, ranting and swearing furiously.

Kagome sat there and waited for him to cool down. She was very much used to his temper. When he finally threw all he could, he slumped down next to her again in pained exhaustion.

"Why?"

"I made a promise…." She looked at him and stopped. He wasn't looking at her, and his expression was murderous. She turned to look where his attention lay, only to see the hanyou leaning against the far wall.

"And because she wants a real warrior to warm her bed, not some fucking mangy wolf boy." InuYasha snorted.

Kouga leapt over the table to punch the inu hanyou, only to miss and hit the stone wall, making it crack in submission. InuYasha had leapt out of the way and retaliated by slashing at the wolf with his sharp claws. By this time Kouga had assessed what he was up against and rushed out of the half demon's range. Both were growling furiously, maneuvering around each other and the long dining table Kagome still sat at.

Kagome sat momentarily stunned at the display. Her best friend and her "mate" were about to go at each other's throats. And she was the cause. Sorrow, guilt and anger washed over her as she stood.

"Both of you stop it, you're acting like you both own me! Cut it out!" She glared at both of them.

They both turned to her and looked at her as if she grew two heads.

Both spoke at once, and she only managed to hear the gist of what both said.

"Kagome, you are my woman!"

"You are honor bound to me, Bitch!"

"I do own you!" Both said before they looked at each other and growled in jealous rage. "Kagome is mine, you fucking mutt!" They both yelled in unison.

"Oh please!" Kagome threw up her hands and scowled. She attempted to leave the room in a rush only to be grabbed by InuYasha who placed her behind him and cornered her into the wall, shielding her from Kouga's gaze. The wolf demon growled and leapt towards them.

Sensing the demon's motive, InuYasha jumped up to stop him. Both met in the air and crashed into each other then onto the table below them. The table bent under the pressure but did not break. Kagome lifted her eyebrows impressed but then shook her head to glare hard at the matter at hand.

By this time Kikyo entered the room, carrying a tray of food, and frowned at the display. Kagome looked at the older miko with a questioning expression. Kikyo caught her gaze and nodded reservedly.

Both women turned to see a bloody fistfight occurring, and it was enough of a distraction for Kagome to center her power. Her eyes flashed purple as she lifted and separated the two demons from each other with an aura of force. Both collided into opposite walls of the dining room and landed on the ground stunned at the same time. As they struggled to stand, they realized they could not move beyond the floor. Kagome's power was holding them down without them knowing.

Kikyo took this opportunity to intercede.

"I will hold you both until you calm down to see reason."

Both demons looked at the older miko in shock, believing she was the cause of their prone states.

"Kouga, you fool. You all of creatures should know the seriousness of an honorable claim when two souls commit to it. You have made no such claim on Kagome, though you have to another. You will desist on destroying the manor over something you have no rights for." She then glared at the inu-hanyou. Her cold eyes narrowed. "And you, you may have made the claim, but you have not yet the power to instigate it. Leave us, or I will have your brother show you proper etiquette." She gazed at him knowingly without further explanation.

That said, Kagome released her hold and stood beside Kikyo as the two demons got up shakily. They both glared hatefully at one another.

InuYasha walked over to Kagome in an attempt to take her with him, only to be daunted by Kikyo's glare. He looked at Kagome, his expression filled with anger, confusion and pain, half expecting her to explain why she was hurting him so much. Yet the young miko barely looked back at him as she turned to go to Kouga. InuYasha growled furiously and ran from the room, slamming doors behind him.

Kagome internally cringed at the sound of the hanyou storming away as she looked up at Kouga sadly. She hugged him quickly.

"Goodbye," she said sadly to the friend she grew up with.

Kouga's expression was pain filled as he looked down on her beautiful form before she released her hold on him. Nodding resolutely, he turned to the door that led to the barracks without saying a word. 'You will still be mine, Kagome. I will hunt that dog shit down and kill him, and you will be mine again No matter what promises we have made.'

Kikyo and Kagome were finally alone once again, and set the room in order somewhat before sitting down to eat a small meal in silence.

Tomorrow was fast approaching, and the drama had yet to begin.


	5. Serendipity

Dawn came too soon. Kagome knew so personally. She did not sleep at all last night. Instead she wandered around the manor, soaking in everything, remembering every memory she could and storing it away with her to keep them fresh in her mind. Yet, she could not go near her chambers. They were empty, and seeing the many crates, filled with her things she would never see again in the hallway outside her room, was too much to put on her self.

She understood the reasoning behind packing light now seeing them lined up. What caravan would be able to carry it all? But she knew deep down, if they were important to have, Sesshomaru would have made some arrangements for her to take them. Since he did not, then maybe she _was_ being pushed out of her home. Maybe she did have to start a new life without relying on her father's protection. She knew it had to happen someday, that she would have to make her own life in the world, she just never thought she would have to do so without her father's love.

The look he had given her in the Great Hall was so cold and dead. He was the only man she trusted, the only father she ever knew. Memories of silver and gold, love and protection, was stilled by that one look he gave her. It felt like the light and the good was stolen from him, and she was the one that took it. The thought made her breath catch. Did he love her anymore? Could a daughter give up her faith on the man that had loved and raised her by just one look?

Every time she thought of him, tears would sting the back of her eyes. Memories of him holding her when she was hurt, protecting her from everything that caused her angst…. She never knew her real father, but she would never want anyone other than Sesshomaru if she could choose. He was always calm and gentle, yet stern and just when she needed him to be. Her heart ached.

'Stop torturing yourself. You have to be brave. He taught you to be a warrior, don't let him see you afraid.' She rebuked herself, but she could not stop the childhood memories and the cold hard look that darkened them.

She sighed and looked out the window. The sun was now peaking in the east. It was now morning. She would be leaving with InuYasha as soon as the household was up, and by the sound of it they were stirring. Kagome held her breath to fight back her emotions. She would not have anyone see her weak, especially not InuYasha.

Walking down the corridor quickly to hide in her empty room, she collided into something hard making the air she was holding rush out of her. She stumbled back suddenly, but was able to catch her balance as she looked up. Immediately her gray eyes widened.

"Otou-san?"

Sesshomaru looked down at her. She almost thought he looked relieved but his face quickly turned expressionless. Maybe she was wrong. She turned her head away, heartbroken.

The demon lord turned his back on her quickly and she held her breath again to keep the tears of hurt and confusion back. He acted like he didn't love her anymore. Could she blame him? She made a stupid pact without thinking of whom she was making a pact with. Who could ever forgive such reckless betrayal?

He began to walk away from her. "Come, he is waiting for you." His cold voice demanded.

Kagome nodded, unable to formulate words as she followed him down to the Great Hall. Quickly gazing around the stone meeting place, she could see that it was patched up, though chipped stone was still apparent from yesterday's events. And there waiting for her was her mother, Kikyo, Jaken, Kaede, a few court Elders and chiefs, and finally, InuYasha. Kagome noticed that Kouga was nowhere to be seen.

Her father grabbed her left arm tightly and guided her over to InuYasha who stood there impatiently.

She looked at him and her eyes narrowed into slits of hatred. He avoided her gaze. Instead he watched Sesshomaru with a sour look.

Everyone was quiet, and Kagome wondered what she was supposed to do now. It turned out that she would now be making another promise, one she was not ready to make.

"I, Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, give you, InuYasha," for a moment it looked as if her father were going to be sick, "Lord beneath and younger brother to this Sesshomaru, my daughter, Kagome, to be bound to you for life. You will protect her and honor her for the rest of your days."

With that said he pushed Kagome roughly to stand before InuYasha. She regarded the hanyou questionably, still overwhelmed by the cold words and behavior of her father.

InuYasha stood tall but did not look at her. Instead he grabbed the arm that Sesshomaru let go of and pulled her roughly to his side. He did not let go, instead gave a small squeeze in reassurance before he relaxed his grip.

"I, InuYasha, Lord of the Western Lands, take from you, Sesshomaru," here he rolled his eyes and growled, before continuing on hurriedly, "Lord above and older brother to this InuYasha, your daughter, Kagome, to be bound to me for life. I will protect her and honor her for the rest of my days."

There was silence in the room and Kagome looked around in confusion. They all stared at her questionably. She looked up at Sesshomaru and then reluctantly at InuYasha. Both glared at her as if waiting for something. She sighed and cringed as she realized what she was being asked to do. She swallowed hard the bile that rose to her throat. "I go willingly from my father, Sesshomaru, and I will honour and," Kagome closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, "obey my Lord and mate, InuYasha."

The mating ceremony was cut down dramatically, but the words were binding. She was now mated to InuYasha, and her father's hold no longer applied. Sesshomaru turned from her and left the hall without any further word or recognition of the events that had just transpired.

InuYasha let go of her and walked to the doors that led outside to wait for her. He knew she needed to say her farewells alone. She would have respected that if she didn't already feel the need to hit him in the head with a hefty rock.

Kagome's head was spinning madly. She wanted to run after her father, to beg his forgiveness and to have him hold her again. But he had given her away, and she would honor his traditions. It was killing her softly but she would not let herself put more shame on him. She held her head high and proud, just as he had taught her, and glanced around the room regally.

Rin was the first to come to her and held her tight, tears streaming down her face. "Oh Kagome, that was such a lovely ceremony. I do love weddings."

Kagome almost choked on the spit she was trying to swallow. It wasn't exactly what she expected her mother to say, but it rather dumbed down the whole ordeal dramatically. Thankfully, her mother never left her side as she bowed to the chiefs and elders, then Kaede, even the worthless toad demon, Jaken, who only just snubbed her. But to Kikyo, she hugged fiercely.

"Thank you, for everything. Thank you."

Kikyo hugged back and whispered against her ear softly. "Stand strong. Do not let him break your spirit. He loves you."

Kagome was confused. Did Kikyo mean Sesshomaru or InuYasha? Before she could ask, Rin was holding her again, and Kagome had to lean awkwardly so not to bump her mother's very big stomach. She got a small kick by the unborn pup in the process.

Kagome kneeled down and kissed her mother's stomach. "Goodbye, Little One, I will see you soon."

When she stood, everyone but Rin had left the Hall. Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight. He had not come back to say goodbye to her. Hurt and saddened, Kagome quickly let it pass and turned to smile at her mother so not to worry her.

"I love you, Okaa-san, be well."

"Oh, Kagome-chan, you will be missed dearly. But we are here, and now that the houses are joined, life will be better, you'll see." Rin leaned up kissed her forehead.

Kagome stood amazed at this small woman before her. For fifteen years Rin had remained unchanged. Even though the bond with a demon also entailed a shared lifespan, Kagome knew there was more to this youthful woman and it was the fact her childlike innocence never wavered. Even now, pregnant and a mother to the new heir, she still carried hope and faith in the darkest of times. Rin was an inspiration, and Kagome never wanted for anything with that in her heart.

A cough erupted from the doorways outside, and Kagome turned to scowl at the inu-hanyou leaning on the frame.

"Come on, mate," he smirked, "haven't got all day."

"In a minute!" Kagome barked.

"Keh." He turned and walked out the door. Over his back was her yellow bag.

Kagome was confused at that detail, but shrugged it off. She turned back again to her mother, but Rin was already walking from the room, saying something about 'soaking in a hot spring' and 'damned swollen ankles.'

The young bride cast one more glance around before she turned to walk out the doors. She begrudgingly met InuYasha at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. No one else was in sight. It seems an order was given for everyone to stay clear, for whatever reason. She looked back at the manor in one last hope to see her father, but only stone and shadowed windows looked back at her. She thought her last goodbyes, and blessed her childhood home, before finally turning to the hanyou beside her.

"So where now?" She sighed.

He looked at her and scoffed. "Home, Bitch, where did you think?" He started to walk down the lane towards the palace's stone archway that led to the open region of the Western Lands.

She was going to yell at him for calling her 'that' again but his actions spoke louder than words. "Whoa there, dog boy, are you telling me we are walking to the eastern territory?"

Growling, he turned to her. "No, not all the way."

She sighed a bit in relief and began to follow.

"I'll be running as soon as I get out of this stinking hell hole."

Kagome stopped. "Run straight to the…and how exactly will we do that?"

"Don't know how _you_ will, I ran all the way here to find your sorry ass. I'm okay. You on the other hand, will have to learn how to keep up." He shifted his hold on the bag.

Kagome growled, and turned away from him to walk back to the manor.

"Oi, Wench, where do you think you're going?" He shifted quickly to her side and grabbed her arm, hauling her back to look up at him.

"I," she regarded him coldly, quickly tearing her arm from his grasp, "am going to get my horse."

"No, you're not!"

"You can't expect me to 'run,' to the eastern territory! That's almost a three day travel for one on foot, and as fantastic as you think I am, my endurance is not demon enhanced!" She turned again toward the manor.

InuYasha was immediately in front of her and smirked down at her. "You are sworn to obey me, Wench. Come on." He grabbed her again and swung her over his shoulder.

Kagome yelped as her world was turned upside down and her face was now inches from a very nice ass. She scowled. What was she thinking, nice ass? But whether it was nice or not, she didn't have time to assess its perfection. The yellow bag was bumping against her, and the contents where hard and some had pointed edges.

"OwOWWooohhhh! Let me down, you horse's AHHHHH!" She started to kick her legs and pull her self up on his back, only for him to let go of her flinging legs and she flipped off his back to land hard on her own on the ground, leaving her winded and dazed.

InuYasha turned to look down at her. "Keh, how does it feel?" With that he turned away and started to jog out of the archway towards the east. Kagome got up with burning fury and started to jog after him. She shrugged internally.

'At least I'm not carrying the bag.'

She thought too soon. Outside the archway lay the large yellow bag. She screamed inside her head, but would not give him the satisfaction of getting the best of her.

She hefted the bag on her back, and for once was thankful they did not have the many crates now stacked away in her old chambers. She walked forward shakily. What the hell was in this thing? She looked ahead. The bastard waited a few meters ahead with a devilish grin on his face while she looked at him with murder on hers. He didn't know what he just got himself into.

-+-

A figure stood in the shadows of an open window at the highest room and surveyed the outside world below him. He watched numbly as a part of his soul now walked out of his manor, out of his homeland, and out of his life. Yet Sesshomaru's face did not share what his heart screamed out. He would miss her, he would love her, but she could no longer be with him.

He turned his head slightly to recognize the miko standing behind him. Sesshomaru cast his golden eyes from the window to sense the room. They were alone. He again turned and faced the window once more while the miko moved to stand beside him and followed his gaze.

"She will not be happy." Kikyo said.

"Hmm. Maybe not, but she will be safe."

"How can you be sure Naraku will not find her there?"

Sesshomaru flinched slightly at the name. It was a name they both harbored fear and hatred toward for nearly fifteen years. Naraku was a traitor among demons, an abomination and a power that could rival his own. The enemy would stop at nothing to gain the power he sought. He would even sacrifice an entire village and a demon horde to claim one small child.

And Naraku was still looking for her.

With all that had happened in these last fifteen years and with all that they knew, Kagome could no longer stay here. She was no longer safe because he could no longer hide her. Especially now that a spy was in Sesshomaru's midst and it possibly knew what to look for.

But would she be safe from Naraku with InuYasha by her side? He guaranteed it.

Sesshomaru peered out the window. "Contrary to what we see, he loves her. He committed to be mated to her for the rest of his life. He could have retracted his claim, but he did not. He willingly bound himself to her, with the knowledge he bound himself to me. Knowing that we have fought for so long, that he would have given it all up for her, proves he truly does love her. He would not let Naraku take her, and with the Tetsusaiga, she could not be anywhere more safe than with him."

His stern eyes flicked up to watch his daughter throw and hit his half brother clear in the head with a large stone. He held in a begrudging sigh as his enhanced hearing picked out them yelling at each other. Their voices could almost be heard by the miko even though they were over a kilometer from the manor's outer walls.

A small smile nearly traced the demon lord's lips. "Whether he will be safe from her is another story. He does not know what he has gotten himself into, but knowing the dumb fool, he would not have it any other way."

Kikyo smiled and nodded.


	6. Are We There Yet?

They had already gone whole day of travel and it was now growing into evening of the second day.

While walking across the span of the Western Lands towards InuYasha's territory, they had met no opposition, no rogues, no demons, hell they met no one! InuYasha was sure his jerk-off of a brother made aware the truce to his own people, but for nothing to meet their gaze or interest was unsettling. Worse, a looming presence was apparent since he left the manor and disturbed him more without any distractions to keep his mind from it.

The stark quietness around him was overwhelming to a point of suffocation. He had thought once they entered the rim of his forest that afternoon he would be surrounded by the sounds of it. But there was nothing, no birds, no insects, nothing. The creatures seemed to know of impending doom, and remained silent.

InuYasha was on edge since they left the fortress of his half-brother since yesterday morning, but as time ticked on the more he felt the chill in the air and the almost choking hold of foreboding emanating around him. There was definitely an evil aura trying to grip him and he was beginning to crack under the pressure. Then he heard a snap behind him and he finally broke.

"BITCH! WILL YOU STOP STARING AT ME!" InuYasha turned and howled in frustration at the young woman behind him.

Kagome only let her gaze harden even more but it had a gleam of maliciousness as she glared at him. She took a twig she had in her hands and again snapped it in front of him. Her lips were itching to smile in contempt.

He growled and turned on his heel and ran into the forest, certain that if he stayed for another moment he would kill her, well, seriously maim, well, for certain jump up and down on her until she was pulp.

Kagome stood there alone and watched him tumble furiously into the dense branches until she could no longer hear him, her lips finally giving way into a smirk. Ever since their little rock to the head incident yesterday morning, they had not spoken or even looked at each other. It was a battle of wills and they both knew it. Who would speak first, who would break under the pressure of silence?

Kagome had always kept her self four steps behind him, even with the extra weight on her from her bag. She had not allowed her self to succumb to her weariness. She kept her eyes on his back, letting her anger feed her strength. Her cold gaze bore into him, making him tense and anxious of what she was planning. She knew she was getting to him; it was only a matter of time. But she was starting to get tired. She knew she would have to stop but she wasn't about to break the cold dead silence they created. She let her gaze wander briefly to a dead branch in her way and she snapped it out of frustration.

That did it! Kagome was delighted in the fact that all it took was one annoying sound to break him. She had to keep from laughing when he turned to yell at her, and rubbed it in by snapping the offending twig in front of him.

But now she stood alone, and the coldness they had radiated against each other lifted and the forest almost sighed in relief. A few night birds began to chirp cautiously, and soon, the forest was back into a swing of sound and activity.

Sighing, Kagome eased the bag off her back and sat heavily. Her body felt plastered in sweat and grit. Flies were beginning to buzz around her and she felt dirty and itchy all at once. She wanted so badly to bathe and then sleep, not having much of either the night before. Stupid slave driving hanyou. But first she needed water. Her throat was so parched and dry it almost screamed for moisture.

Wearily, her sensitive ears pricked to a slight gurgling sound of water trickling behind some trees. Swaying as she stood, and dragging the bag behind her, Kagome walked the short distance to a small pool, fed by a stone spotted stream. Glancing at it, it was maybe two feet deep and six feet wide, but it was cool and clear. It was perfect.

Letting go of the bag, Kagome collapsed on her knees and all but dunked her head in the water. Gulping down as much as she could, her body then ached for its embrace. Sloughing off her boots, pants and skirt, but leaving on her juban, (she knew the hanyou wouldn't stay away long enough) she walked shakily into the water and just collapsed in the middle to sit. She let her hair down from its hold and felt it cascade around her. Her body shivered in delight.

She didn't move for a few minutes, but just stared at the rhythmic flow around her and almost became hypnotized, not letting her mind think about the day. She just wanted to blank out. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deep and lay back, letting the water flow up and around her. Holding her breath, she stretched and lay at the silty bottom. She flitted her fingers through her long hair and eased her mind and body.

She loved to swim and had trained herself to hold her breath for a few minutes. Namely because it scared so many people thinking she drowned when she didn't resurface immediately. But as she got older, being under water became a sort of meditation.

She relaxed, letting her heart slow and her breathing to be shallow, thus not needing to come up for air for some time.

Lying there at the bottom of the small pool, Kagome opened her mouth, letting water rush in, then out, calming and cooling her more. She opened her eyes after awhile to look up at the glittering surface of the pool and started in shock, seeing a massive figure standing over her. Gasping in fright, she accidentally inhaled some water. Before she could sit up, a rough clawed hand grabbed the front of her juban and hauled her up to the surface of the water.

Kagome emerged, coughing and gasping, trying all at once to tear the hand off her juban, wipe her hair from her face and the water from her eyes. She floundered dumbly trying to find her control. The hand was then joined by another hand and Kagome was lifted and dropped to the side of the pool. The hands let go of her juban, and Kagome was finally able to shake her hair from her face and see her attacker.

"What the hell!" She coughed again. "Are you trying to drown me?"

Golden eyes stared at her disbelievingly then turned to ice cold fury. "You were under there for a fucking long time, you stupid wench! I thought you were drowning!"

Kagome stood and tried to keep from slipping on the grassy surface, while yelling at the offended hanyou in the process. "I was fine until you showed up! And what do you mean a long time? How long have you been watching me?" She finally got her balance and glared at him, expecting him to yell at her, but he just stood there and looked at her in a daze.

Looking down to see what he was staring at, she gasped. Her juban may have been covering her, but she neglected to account for its white colour, and its thin make. Her breasts were moulded in perfect, round mounds in the fabric, and her copper coloured nipples perked through, especially now under a cool wind and a hot stare. Worse, he could see further below, from her firm trim abdomen to her black triangle pointing to her sex.

In the mere moments she took it all in, she quickly crossed her arms over her chest and crossed her legs as best she could. She glared in shock and embarrassment. "Turn around, you pervert!"

InuYasha did not turn around, instead he let his gaze drop from her now hidden breasts to the slick blackness leading to her desire.

Kagome watched his eyes travel down and settle there and her own eyes widened even more. In desperation and a lack of comprehension all she could say was "SIT BOY!"

InuYasha's eyes shot to hers in shock then anger. 'Did she just discipline me like an ordinary dog?'

Before he had a chance to retaliate, he felt her small hands on his chest and he toppled off the bank into the water. He sat up quickly, flicking his long, white hair out of his eyes in shock. He growled and was about to jump onto the bank to grab her when his eyes focused on her retreating form, and a round perky ass plastered against wet, white linen. A sly grin emerged on his face as he gathered himself up and stepped out to follow. Why waste a view she was too angry to notice to cover?

But then again, who would keep from looking at her now? He scowled and his body burned with protectiveness towards his mate.

Kagome dumped her clothing and bag in a small clearing and tried desperately to dress as quickly as she could. Quickly and stealthfully the inu hanyou walked up behind her and pressed his wet frame against her back, gripping her waist with both hands. He growled low and hard, creating vibrations against her back.

Kagome gasped loudly. She dropped the pants she was about to get into and swung around in shocked anger. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him away at arms reach. "Wh…what are you doing!"

InuYasha looked down at her, his gaze flicking over her wet exposed form. His golden eyes narrowed and he grabbed her hand that was pushing him away and dragged her into his chest, gripping her hard and flush against him. He didn't know why. He just felt like he needed to touch her, to feel her near, and her scent was flooding over him. Her body was still showing through, and jealousy and passion pounded through him. No one was to even look at his mate! He felt threatened that her form was visible to anyone at that moment. He wanted nothing more than to cover her and keep her from any who could endanger her right then.

Kagome's eyes widened at his possessive and claiming gaze. She was not about to be an object of desire. She could never be taken like that. They may now be mates, but she would not let him break her. He would not have that power. Her eyes narrowed in challenge, and waited to see what he would do before deciding on killing him.

His own eyes gleamed in an unrecognizable stare that lingered and studied her face as she glared at him with malice, before he pushed her away and walked away from her. "Keh, don't flatter yourself, Bitch. If I wanted you like that you'd be screaming my name right now for more."

Kagome opened her mouth in shock then swiftly turned to fury. In a fit of anger, she threw the closest thing she had at arms length, her boot.

InuYasha quickly side stepped out of its way, and turned to her to laugh in contempt. "Is that all you have left in you? You're weaker than I thought." His turned his back on her again and began to wring out his hair.

Kagome's temper flared and she nearly lost it, feeling her power crackle inside her, begging her to smite his ass to next week, but she held it in, especially after watching him twitch his ear at her in a certain way. 'Wait. Was he trying to get me angry? Why? Unless he feels pleasure in pissing me off. Is that why he was acting so strange just then, to get me back from the twig snapping or something? Well, I'm not about to give him any satisfaction.'She held her breath to act like she was about to scream at him, then let it go and smiled coyly.

"Oh I don't know, my aim was fine this morning, and by the looks of you it still is. You're wetter than a drowned rat." Kagome then swung her cloak around her self and turned to look at him with a sly glint. "As for flattery, I am not about to be put down by someone who smells of wet dog." With that she put on her pants and boots (quickly collecting the one she threw) and began to look for firewood to start up camp.

InuYasha watched her guardedly while she dressed. The "wet dog" remark had him a little worried and he quickly sniffed at himself without her looking. Was she serious? When she began to collect wood, he frowned.

"Oi, what are you doing now?"

Kagome sighed in frustration. "I'm collecting firewood to make camp."

InuYasha harrumphed. "Make camp? We're not stopping now, we have another day's travel left by the way you're going. I want to be home by dawn tomorrow."

Kagome laughed unkindly. "Well, that's not happening, I'm making camp and I'm sleeping and I am not going _anywhere _at dawn tomorrow."

The hanyou glared at her as she bent and sparked flint and iron pyrite together, trying to create a spark to ignite a glowing flame.

"You will listen and obey me, Bitch!" He growled menacingly as she got a fire going.

"It's Kagome." She knelt and added more wood before reaching for her bag to see what was in it.

"What?"

"My name, it's Kagome. Not bitch, not wench, not stupid and not moron." She began to pull out some articles from the bag: a retractable bow, a quiver of arrows, rations and a few books and personal items. 'Hmm, Kikyo packed everything I might need, nice!'

"Whatever, Bitch, you still have to obey me as my mate! And we are leaving now!" He barked, cracking his knuckles in retaliation

"KAGOME!" She hopped up and stormed over to him. "Put your lips together like this…KA-GO-ME! And as for obey, I've already left my only home that I ever knew to become mated to an arrogant and selfish jerk, and as a result I'm cold and hungry and tired and …and…. SHUT UP! I'm not going anywhere else tonight!" She swung away from him and settled in front of the fire in a contrite slump.

InuYasha looked at her stunned, then glared. He shrugged his shoulders. "Keh, fine, whatever." With that he took to the trees and was gone.

"Finally." Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and smiled happily when she pulled out a large blanket and pillow from the bag. She made a small bed and sat in front of the fire and basked in the glow if its warmth. Her juban had dried quickly and she nibbled on a ration of rice meal and venison. Not the best, but with how hungry she was, it was the best she had eaten in a long time.

Time passed slowly, and Kagome was starting to feel unsettled. The night was black, and the sky was clouded over, so the only light she got was from the fire. Noises of movement and animal voices were drawing around her. She had never spent a night alone outside of the manor, and fear was starting to rise in her throat. Channelling her grace, she cast her aura out, in hopes no demon or evil was around. For a flash she was certain she felt something, but just as quickly it was gone. Sweeping her aura around again, she couldn't sense anything, but she could feel a pricking in the hairs on the back of her neck. She felt she was being watched.

"InuYasha?" She whispered.

No answer.

She cleared her throat after gaining her courage. "InuYasha?" She called out.

A snapping of twigs in the distance erupted, and a thunderous pounding was coming towards her fast. Kagome hopped up and grabbed her bow and quiver, but the bow was retracted. In her haste to snap it in place and string an arrow, the sound was now at the fringe of the firelight, whisking around the camp for better advantage. She could hear the rustling of bushes, and the creaking and snapping of branches, first in front, then beside, then behind her. It was moving quickly, but she could not sense what it was, almost as if the creature was masked. Her eyes widened, straining to see in the shadow of the forest.

"InuYasha, I swear if that's you, the next time you count your balls you won't get the same number twice!" Kagome swung to face every sound she heard.

A faint huffing noise came from her right. Kagome quickly cast her aim in the direction of the noise but was unable to fire a shot in time as a large brown creature charged from the depths and landed on her.

Kagome screamed in pain as she landed hard on her back and a clawed paw crushed down on her chest. In a blur of red and white sparks in her eyes, Kagome could see a heavy fanged face of a bear. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her power, but the weight of the massive animal was too much as it leaned further on her. Tears leaked off her face and she became dizzy. She opened her mouth involuntarily as her last gasp of air was pushed from her from the weight. Her world began to spin, but suddenly the weight was relieved in a mass of fur and wind.

Kagome inhaled deep and coughed from the strain. She lay there a moment, her body still in a state of shock, but she forced to move her head toward the sound of growls and roars. Her eyes were still blurred, but she could see clearly a red figure in a death grip with the bear.

"Inu…." She wheezed.

She tried to shake her head, but her whole body throbbed and ached. Her hand flexed, trying to find her bow. Her fingers curled around it and she turned her body towards it, fighting the pain al over to sit up to her knees, ready for battle. She searched desperately for an arrow in her quiver. The one she had was snapped into pieces.

"KAGOME!"

She glanced up from her search to see the bear come towards her again. Her eyes widened. She lifted the bow to use as a blunt weapon as the bear charged her.

Blades of liquid red whipped out of nowhere and the bear landed at her knees, sliced by blades of blood. She watched as its eyes went from red fury to emptiness. Her breathing shook as her heart froze from what she had witnessed. She knew death, having watched her mother die, but there was something about seeing this creature die that sent her a wave of anticipation, as if she was waiting for something.

Then she felt it. It was like a cool wave had pushed though her that she actually rocked back on her knees from the force. It was if she had felt its soul passing through her in a gesture of ease and whispered thoughts. She choked on a dry sob from the sensation, awed and terrified at once. Though she was put in danger because of this creature, she could not help but understand it at that moment, and feel remorse. She tentatively lifted her hand and reached out shakily to touch it in reverence, to question if what she was feeling was real.

"Kagome? Are you alright?"

Kagome shot her hand back to her side and looked up at the half-demon standing in front of her. She saw fear, angst, anger, bloodlust…too many emotions in those golden eyes. They were so full of life compared to the eyes of the creature that lay before her. She swallowed and cast her eyes down as she nodded her head in silence.

Moments passed before either spoke. InuYasha looked around uncomfortably and was about to rant her out for just sitting there until her soft voice caressed his erect ears.

"You said my name." She whispered.

InuYasha glanced at her in shock. "Is that all you can say? A ferocious animal nearly kills you and all you can think of is me saying your stupid name? What the fuck is wrong with you, Bitch!"

Kagome closed her eyes. The whispered thoughts from the bear had long faded from her mind like a memory and she began to ease back into herself. She slowly shook her head, too exhausted to even argue about the name-calling. "Nothing, never mind."

"Keh." He reached for her. "Come on, let's pack and get out of here."

Kagome looked up at him stunned. "Go?" Before her mind could argue and bring those arguments to her mouth, her eyes cast onto his chest. "You're hurt!"

He snorted. "They're self inflicted. What do you think I used to kill the damn animal when it charged you? I have the ability to use my blood as a weapon."

Kagome remembered the red blades and could only imagine what he had done. In an act of anger, frustration and stress, she lashed out at him. "That's the most stupidest thing you have done so far. Honestly! You look like you've shredded yourself! We're not going until I get you bandaged up!" She tried to stand, but her ankle collapsed from under her. She hissed in pain. "Shit…."

The hanyou flicked his gaze up and down her. He cocked an eyebrow. "I'm beginning to think you're more trouble than what you're worth. Come on." He reached for her again, not wasting time for her to take hold of him, and quickly lifted her up into his arms.

Kagome pushed away from his grasp. "Idiot! You're hurt! Let me down! We're not going anywhere until you're alright!"

He growled. "I'm fine. And I'm not staying anywhere where I have to save your ass while you sleep!"

Kagome crossed her arms. "And what do you expect us to do? I can't walk. You're just going to carry me the rest of the way? And you're getting blood all over me!"

InuYasha rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe this girl. First a wild bear attacks her, then she stands her ground to attack it after having it crush her, and then tried to pet its corpse in sadness after it had charged her. If that wasn't enough, she yelled at him for getting hurt _while_ saving her, not to mention getting hurt_ to_ save her, then gets mad for getting blood on her, and she still wants to stay in order to patch _him_ up? And all the while that she's arguing with him, she's cut, bleeding and bruised, not to forget her ankle is also sprained. Yet, through it all, she never thought about herself.

His heart suddenly throbbed in an aching realization. The girl was selfless, first caring for her people who were sick, enough to travel to enemy territory to gather the medicine, then mourned for a creature that nearly killed her, and now caring for one she hated. He wanted so desperately for her to like him, but he could still recall the disgust in her face when he touched her earlier that evening, when all he wanted was to do was shield her from harm. He lowered is eyes to the ground as he carried her. He could not let himself get too close, knowing that she hated his touch, but it would be difficult. Even now, her warm body sent tingles through his skin and he wanted to grip her hard against him. He cast his face away so she could not see his conflicted expression. He growled low.

"Fine, we'll stay long enough to mend and pack, but as soon as we're able, we're going!" He set her down by the fire on her blanket and walked over it to pack up the bag.

A tearing noise caught his attention. Looking to Kagome he saw her rip away the sleeves to her oversized juban.

"What are you doing now?" He knitted his brow.

Kagome didn't even glance up. "Sit on the blanket."

"Wha…."

"I said SIT!"

InuYasha sat on the blanket and crossed his arms in stubborn frustration. "Keh."

Kagome shifted herself in front of him, letting her ankle drag so as not to put pressure on it.

"Hand me the brown pouch in the bag." Kagome swept away his long hair from his shoulder so that all of it flowed to his back. She took notice on how thick and soft it felt, and tried desperately to not run her fingers through it. She bit her lip hard. 'He is not who I thought he was. I can't feel this way.'

InuYasha was a bit distracted by her touch and automatically reached in the bag to give her the pouch without question. He stared dumbly at the fire, and tried to let his mind wander to anything except warm soft blankets, warm soft fire, warm soft Kagome…. Shit.

Opening the pouch, Kagome found just what she needed. She reached for a flask of water by the fire and she glimpsed up at the hanyou. She blushed shyly as she murmured low. "Take off your kariginu and juban."

InuYasha looked at her stunned. "Why?"

She regarded him carefully as she gathered her courage at seeing his bare chest once again, this time up close. "So I can take care of your wounds…."

"Is that what you're doing?" He cast his gaze away and laughed snidely. "I told you, I'm fine."

"There's too much blood for you to be just 'fine'," Kagome sighed. "Please, let me take care of you."

As soon as the words passed from her mouth, InuYasha's resolve broke. _Let me take care of you. _ He didn't understand how so few words could have so much of an impact on him. He growled in annoyance for her benefit and shrugged his shoulders out of his clothing and bared his chest for her to see.

She gasped at the amount of blood and the five gouges where he must have dug his claws into his chest. She reached out and dragged her fingers across his sternum, assessing the damage.

InuYasha shivered under the touch and inhaled deep, clenching his jaw in a bitter war to control his desire to take her, to kiss her and taste her like he had wanted since the last time he saw her. 'Gods, why did it hurt so much? Why do I want her so much? Even after knowing who she is…. Should it matter?'

Kagome mistook his shiver as a shudder of pain. "Sorry." She whispered shyly, pulling her fingers away.

Taking a scrap of her juban and dabbing it in water, she carefully washed away the blood, leaving the oozing holes open. They looked raw, but they did not bleed, though they were deep. She glanced up at his face in surprise, but he was not looking at her. Instead he stared intently at the fire, his face looking hard and fierce. She held her breath at the sight. He looked so regal and beautiful with the firelight dancing in his golden eyes and on his golden skin. He looked very much like the great lord she had heard stories about as a child and it made her body tremble in excitement.

Her body felt flushed, hot and wet all of a sudden. It was a feeling she never knew before, and it made her scared and thrilled all at once. She hurriedly doused scraps of her juban in an herbal salve she had taken from her brown bag and swiftly wrapped them around his chest to keep the wounds clean. When she was done she glanced up again to see smouldering and dominating eyes staring down at her. She cleared her throat softly.

"Guess we should pack up now seeing as your fine. I have never seen anyone heal that fast." She smiled shyly in spite of herself and turned quickly away to pack up the bag, unaware that her cheeks were red.

InuYasha grabbed her arm in mid-motion of her reaching for the bag. A slight guttural growl was rumbling in his chest.

Kagome wondered what she did to make him angry, but the growls themselves were not making her worry. Instead, the growls were causing stirrings in her body that she could not control or even identify, only that she was quickly becoming addicted to them. She couldn't explain how or why she felt that way just by the sounds he was making. It almost seemed like she could feel him inside her mind.

She looked into his penetrating gaze. 'Why am I feeling like this, like I can trust him and not be afraid to be this close to him?' It felt so natural, so right in her heart. But her mind was telling her no, reminding her who she was falling for. She glanced away confused, her heart and mind whirling in turmoil.

"InuYasha?" She whispered, looking down at his grip on her arm.

During the time she was cleaning him, InuYasha was straining every mental capability to keep his composure. He wanted her, he desired her. 'And why not? She is my mate now.' But he knew this wasn't right. Too much has happened to let them be as he wanted. She regarded him as how Sesshomaru did. She wasn't ready to listen in order to let go of her identity of him. He knew she would not think of him as her mate no matter what he said or did. But as her hands trailed along his chest, gentle and soft, he couldn't help but to imagine what she would be like if ever she did want him in return.

He cast his gaze to the fire and felt her look up at him. He tried again to ignore it. Flashes of anger and hate in her eyes when he held her earlier echoed in his mind. 'She would never see me more than her enemy.'

And why shouldn't she hate him? She grew up believing he was the enemy. She agreed to a deal she thought was false and dishonourable. But when she kissed him, when she didn't know who he was…. He stared hard into the fire. If he kissed her now, how would she react? Would she kiss him back? How? Like a lover, like a slave, like a concubine? 'Is that how she feels? Now that she is my woman, would all she consider herself to be to me is a whore?' His eyes narrowed in self-disgust.

Maybe he forced her into this. He was the one who initiated the bonding. Sure she wasn't partial to the deal, but she was here now, and she was his now. Possibly she could learn to care for him…. But he knew she didn't want to be with him. He knew she was here by force. She had nowhere to go now but with him. How could she ever want him or love him?

His youkai side screamed at him to take her and to hell with the consequences, while his own mind screamed for her not to touch him, and at the same time to touch him over and over. His body howled for release and ecstasy and passion and love, but that was just him. She didn't want any of it. She may never want any of it. And his life was bound to hers eternally. He cast his heart into defeat.

He felt her gaze turn from him and she rushed to bandage his chest. 'She must really hate touching me. What else could I have expected?' But then he caught the scent. His ears flicked uncertainly as a dull spice flitted into his senses. Was she aroused?

He gazed down at her in disbelief and hopeful desire. Could she possibly…?She had smiled and blushed at him before she turned away. She was trying to hide it, but he could smell it all over her. She wanted him!

He grabbed her arm to look at her. He had to make sure, letting his lust come forth through a low purr like growl that only a responding mate could recognize. Her body reacted, though her eyes were confused, apprehensive and calculating. He could not deny the fact her body was pulsing for him. Did she actually care? Did she actually have feelings for him too?

"InuYasha?" Kagome repeated, still looking down at her arm, acting unconsciously submissive.

He blinked down at her. A sly grin crawled on his face. 'I have to test this.' He inhaled her subtly. "I smell blood."

Kagome looked up at him and her eyes widened at his expression, then wrinkled in confusion. "Well, yeah, you're covered in it."

"Not mine…" He breathed, "yours." He shifted so his body was hovering over hers in a offensive crouch. His eyes roamed her body and his aura stroked over hers, beckoning her to open up to him.

She leaned back on her arms and looked up at him, her heart thundering in her ears. Her legs were between his as he crawled up along her body like a hunting wolf. 'Why does he have to look like that? Why does he have to feel like that? Like I could be happy diving into those eyes, that aura, and get lost. Things were so much easier when we fought….'

"Mine?" She exhaled suddenly.

"Mhmm." He practically purred. His face came to a stop by her left ear. His warm breath tickled her appendage and she could feel goose bumps scatter down her neck and shoulder to her breast, making her nipple grow hard. She gasped at the spasm that hit her sex and bit her lower lip quickly. 'What is he doing to me? I can't let myself feel this way.'

Kagome cast her gaze around the campsite, her mind trying to find her control. Her eyes searched for anything to focus on, away from the golden perfection before her. She tried to shift away from his breathing ministrations but pain shot up from her ankle.

"Ahh…." She hissed painfully. That did it.

InuYasha was off her in a rush, kneeling protectively beside her. He cast his eyes down and saw her nurse her ankle. Carefully and with gentle ease, he reached over and removed her boot, pressing his cool hand against the swelling.

She winced but did not move it. She searched his face guardedly. Why is he being so wonderful? If only he wasn't who he was….

"I think it's a slight sprain," he broke into her thoughts, "but I'll have one of my own look at it when we reach the manor."

He took the last scrap of her juban sleeves and wrapped her ankle expertly. Kagome's body eased a bit as she looked at him in wonder and smiled softly.

"Now for your other injuries." He shifted beside her, his eyes searching her own before he tilted his head down.

"Other…." Kagome began, but stilled as she felt a soft hot tongue lap across her left collarbone and to her sternum. Her mouth dropped in shock. Her mind numbed at the idea of pushing him away as her very being got lost in the feeling he was creating. 'So good… but wasn't it still…?' "Inu…InuYasha…what are you doing?" She rasped.

"My body heals fast, and me cleaning your wounds will let you heal quickly so we can leave. Why, does it hurt?" He stopped and looked up at her. His eyes were imploring her to unconsciously receive him, but he did not want to rush her. He knew it didn't hurt her, but he wanted to hear her say it. And he wanted her to admit him entrance to keep going.

"No, I don't hurt, I didn't know I was hurt." She gazed down at her chest and saw bloody scratches from where the bear's paw had pressed down on her. 'Funny, the markings almost resembled those on InuYasha's chest.' She looked into his eyes and all thoughts fled her. Her head instinctively lifted to allow him to clean her.

He growled in soft pleasure, almost inaudible to her ears. He dipped his head back down and lapped away the flecks and streaks of blood that covered her upper chest.

She gazed down once more and watched as he licked away the blood. The cuts began to sting in a good way, and then fade to nothing. She closed her eyes involuntarily, and her head fell back slightly as she let him mend her.

When he was nursing the rise of her left breast above her sensitive nipple, his ears brushed the side her face. She unknowingly rubbed her cheek and lips against one of them in a soothing caress, moaning softly into it. She almost didn't notice that he had stopped licking, and the purring growl resumed. She opened her glazed grey eyes to see nothing but gold as he looked into hers.

"Kagome?" He whispered so low and soft she barely even knew he called her name, nor did she know how she ended up laying down on the blanket looking up at him. His pure white hair curtained around them, and she felt his aura ripple into her own. She felt an overwhelming comfort that beckoned her to let go her inhibitions and reach for him in return. She eased, her eyes glazing in contentment, willing her mind to stop pestering her and just let it go… whatever it was. It felt so right… so good. She shivered in anticipation and searched his eyes with childlike naivety.

He lowered his head slightly to graze his lips against her own, but stalled and looked into her glowing orbs, silently asking permission. She leaned her lips closer to his, casting all fear from him. InuYasha closed his eyes and capturing her lips into his own, hungrily and greedily.

Kagome's eyes fluttered shut in response. Her fingers lazily twined in his hair before she felt brave enough to lift her hands to stroke his face, caress his hair from it, and finally reach to delicately skim the rim of his ears.

InuYasha moaned in her mouth, and delved deeper in the kiss, roving his tongue on her bottom lip until she opened and allowed him entrance. He sighed as he moved his body on top of hers in a desperate need to feel all of her at once. He needed to surround her all around him, as he tasted her mouth in all its glory. 'Gods! She tastes amazing!'

He had dreamed about this, but could never imagine how sweet and salty she tasted. Now he wanted nothing more than to remember it, and to be able to relive it in his mind forever more. He flicked his tongue around hers and thrusted against her hips uncontrollably when she started to taste him back. She did it so softly and shyly he didn't know if he could control the need to take her then.

"Fuck, Kagome," he groaned, moving his mouth from hers to lick, nip and suck her jaw line to her neck. "Finally I have you. Finally your mine!"

Kagome's head was in a daze, delighting in the golden Adonis above her, before his words reached her frazzled mind. 'Have me? Mine?'

Memories rushed painfully in. _He is the scourge of the Western Territory. He is ruthless. He will take pride in trying to break you…. Your daughter is mine…. I have what is yours, and I will make good use of her…. _

'Oh Gods, what the hell am I doing?'

"Get off!" Kagome hissed, and gripped hard on his shoulders to push him away.

InuYasha didn't hear her. His body and mind were reeling in desire and rapture. His Kagome! His mate! She tasted so good, she felt so good…. He was high on her and barely registered her voice until it was almost too late.

"I SAID GET OFF!" Kagome's eyes pierced violet and her hands glowed and pulsed. She was about to send him flying into the trees before she felt him lift off of her to crouch worriedly beside her.

His gaze nearly ripped her heart out. He was afraid for her?

His eyes flicked around her body. "Oh Gods, Kagome, did I hurt you? What's wrong?"

Kagome couldn't believe her ears. She didn't want to. This man was the enemy. He had taken her from her home. He had insulted her and treated her like a possession. But here he was - soft, beautiful, and loving. She shook her head. No! He was InuYasha, her father's enemy. He was…he was….

"I cannot be taken…. I will not be taken, not by you…." Kagome rambled and moved away from him, her head shaking. 'Not by anyone again! I will not be a possession! I want to be free! I will not be broken again!'

What the hells does that mean? Her head was beginning to throb and her vision was going fuzzy. She lifted her hand to her head. "What's going on?"

Glancing around, a swirl of colours and energies were pulsing from the trees, the fire, the earth, and the air. It was coming from everywhere. Her eyes grew wide. What the in the world was going on? She looked at the hanyou for answers, but he to was a mass of energy, glowing in white and sky blue - pure and beautiful.

"Beautiful…." Kagome whispered before her body lurched and her world swirled in a mass of white.

"Kagome!" InuYasha cried out. It was all she heard as it echoed in her mind before her world faded to black.


	7. Misunderstood

'Midoriko….'

'…Hmn?'

'Midoriko….'

'…Who are you?'

'Heh heh heh…how easily you forget….'

'…That voice! Who are you?'

'I am you.'

'…What?'

'I have been waiting for you, waiting for a long time.'

'It's so black here. I know this place, I think…. What do you mean you've been waiting?'

'Where are you, Midorkio?'

'I'm not….'

'You are mine.'

'…No…! It's you!'

'Heh heh heh….'

'You will not have me!'

'You have no choice.'

'NO!'

'You can no longer fight me.'

'I have…I will!'

'You and I are one….'

'No! I will not be broken.'

'You already are.'

'I have to run! I have to get out of here!'

'Midoriko.'

'I AM NOT…!'

'Tell me then…who are you?'

'I am….'

"Kagome?"

"Mmmng…?" A crushing pain enveloped her. Dream voices faded and were erased the dark recesses of her mind before she awoke to this excruciating pain.

"Kagome? How are you feeling?" A soft voice soothed her senses.

She moaned and open and closed her mouth trying to moisten her tongue. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and her chest hurt to inhale. Her voice cracked as she managed to respond to the unfamiliar voice. "Like I've been mauled by a half ton bear."

"That can't feel good." The voice cringed.

Slowly and begrudgingly, Kagome opened her eyes. As her vision cleared she saw she was in a large ornately decorated room. She scanned her eyes around, trying to take it all in, blinking rapidly a few times to fight the haze that filmed her vision. The walls were grey slate and pristinely polished. A large wardrobe stood out, namely because it took up a good majority of one wall. Its deep red wood was chiselled with elaborate scenes, detailing a story from one end to the other. Beside the large down bed that she rested on stood a desk with various rice parchments and inks. It, too, was dark red and chiselled with various scenes. Travelling her eyes around, her eyes blinked painfully at the brightness of the light of day outside. Opposite the bed she lay on was a large windowed door that opened onto a terrace revealing a wide grey sky.

Kagome looked out into it for a long while before movement by her side caught her attention. Drifting her eyes over to the side she had yet to see, she noticed she was covered by a white down filled blanket and beside her sat a red haired kitsune.

Her eyes widened in surprise as the setting finally filtered into her brain. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat as she managed to speak. "How did I get here?" Her eyes flickered around the room once more in confusion.

"You were unconscious when he brought you in. You've been asleep for a whole two days. But the way were looking, you must have needed it. You're pretty banged up. You were talking in your sleep too. I don't know what you were saying because your voice sounds all funny…."

As the kitsune prattled on, Kagome studied him without really listening. The fox child had orange-red hair that was bundled up in a large blue bow. His face was angelic and sweet, and his bright green eyes were expressive and large. A large bushy orange tail, tipped with soft yellow fur, flicked whenever he got excited, and the more he chatted the more it flicked. He was so tiny that he couldn't have been higher than her knee. At that moment he was rubbing hers while he spoke, unconsciously soothing her. He was adorable. Kagome liked him from the start.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" She croaked.

"My name's Shippou!" He puffed his chest out proud. "I'm a great warrior. I was sent to watch over you."

"Oh?" Kagome's smiled softly and she licked her lips. "You did a very good job. I'm feeling much better and much safer with you here."

Shippou's chest puffed out larger that Kagome was sure he would topple over himself.

Kagome glanced around once more. "Where am I?"

Shippou looked around the room curiously. "This is your room, Kagome. Well, actually it's InuYasha's room, but it's yours now too since you are his mate."

Kagome's smile faded and her eyes widened. She briefly flicked her mind to the events of a few nights before: the bear, bandaging InuYasha, getting caught in his game and kissing him, only to find out he was just trying to claim her like she feared.

She frowned and turned her gaze back to the balcony. But how did she end up here? All she could remember before waking was … colours? 'He must have done something…. Could he have?'

Kagome moved to sit up but her body protested as pain shot up her chest to her head.

"Ooooh." She collapsed back down and shut her eyes.

Shippou patted her knee again. "You're still pretty sore, huh? That bear must have been huge, you're chest is bluer than my bow," he pointed to his hair, "but nothing is broken though."

Kagome cracked an eye open and hesitantly lifted the comforter covering her. She looked down and gaped. Her front, from her breasts to her belly button, were covered in blue, black and purple abrasions. The gouges from the claws were gone. She flushed remembering why, but the weight of the animal was still marked on her body. Her muscles were raw and any movement she made felt like she was pressing on every bruise. But of all the damage done to her body, only one thing stood out.

"Um, Shippou?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are all my clothes?"

Shippou looked at her form and glanced back up to her face. "They were torn up from the attack and they were covered in blood, so they threw them away." Shippou pushed gently on her shoulder to settle her back into the bed and covered her again with the downy comforter. "But those clothes have seen better days before the attack, you must have had a hard life. InuYasha was very brave to rescue you from that evil monster."

Kagome looked confused. "Evil monster?"

"Sesshomaru." The kitsune looked at her wide-eyed.

Kagome's expression turned cold. "Who told you he was an evil monster?"

This time the kitsune looked confused. "Everyone knows that. That's why we fought so hard against him."

Kagome was about to question him further when a tall woman entered the room from a large red wood door on her right, beside the wardrobe

"Shippou, I have to tend to the Lady, why don't you head down to the kitchen and see if her meal is ready, okay?" The woman's voice was demanding but soft.

"Okay." Shippou hopped off the futon and scampered out of the room.

The woman closed the door and smiled sheepishly to Kagome. "I'm sorry, he's just a kid and only knows what he hears."

Kagome nodded, she understood all too well. Maybe if she had paid attention to stories of InuYasha instead of listening to them at face value, she would be waking in her own room right now, looking forward to a day of archery, healing salves and Kouga bashings. Even Kaede's lessons looked like cake right now.

The strange woman sat at the edge of the futon and set down a tray she was carrying. As she busied herself with rags and medicines, Kagome quickly sized her up. The woman was about her age, maybe a year or so older. She had soft, long brown hair and honest brown eyes, but her body spoke of hard training and disciplined study. She did not look like a normal healer. Underneath her pink kimono, Kagome could make out a scaled black suit. Something was not right about her. Kagome turned her face from the girl to look again at the balcony, but cast her grace on the girl, trying to study her spirit.

Her aura brushed softly over the woman, enough that no normal person could feel it. Kagome could sense this woman was honest and good, loyal and brave, everything she could already see on the woman's face. Kagome glanced at her again only to find the woman smiling at her.

"Sense anything?" She winked.

Kagome's mouth dropped. "How did you…?"

The woman laughed. "I'm a demon slayer, you don't go into my profession without knowing a few things and recognizing others, and soul searching is a very powerful trait, among demons and humans alike. You are a very strong miko indeed." She pulled back the comforter and looked at Kagome's chest, frowning a bit at the color. She began to dab a herbal paste on her skin, cooling the burning aches. "So what did you sense?"

Kagome blushed at the confrontation, that or the fact the girl was rubbing her naked chest. "Um… that you are good, honest, loyal…a true friend."

The woman smiled and looked up at her. "My name is Sango."

"Kagome"

"I know." Sango laughed, "Everyone here knows who you are. But I think the question on everyone's mind is, why are you here?"

"Keh, to cause me more trouble with rumours and stories." A gruff voice stated.

Both women turned to look towards the door. InuYasha was leaning his back up against the frame with his arms crossed, looking very smug.

'He's so handsome, so brave, so wonderful…. What! Yeah right! So boorish, pig headed and archaic!' Kagome mentally threw up her hands and looked down angrily, realizing then that her chest was exposed and smeared with green gung. Blushing brightly, she quickly covered her chest from his sight and crossed her arms over the covers. She leaned against the slate wall behind her, looking very contrite, unintentionally mimicking his pose.

InuYasha finally turned his head to look at her, glancing briefly at her chest that she had covered and settled his gaze on her face, which was now looking straight ahead in an attempt to ignore him.

"You just about done yet?" He asked Sango without lifting his eyes off Kagome angry form.

Sango regarded the situation quickly, and smiled inwardly. 'Like two peas in a pod, this will prove to be a most interesting courtship.' "Yes, I will leave you two alone."

She leaned down to collect her things and whispered quickly to Kagome who was still trying to ignore the hanyou at the door. "Don't let him get to you, his bark is worse than his bite."

"Says you, wench!" The demon in question barked.

Sango rolled her eyes. "See? I'll see you later, Kagome."

Kagome looked up at the demon slayer and smiled. She definitely liked this girl. For once, this place didn't seem so bad. She was sure they would be good friends. "Later, Sango. Thanks."

Sango looked up at InuYasha before she left with a 'if you hurt her, I will make sure you piss through your nose' look.

He paled slightly, and looked back at Kagome. Fierce pride and something else filled his face. Sango knew that look, and knew he would do no harm to Kagome.

"I'll see if Shippou needs help carrying up her food." As she passed through the doorway to leave, she just caught a hushed response from the hanyou.

"Stall him."

She nodded softly and left.

InuYasha shut the door behind him and walked slowly to the foot of the bed. Kagome's cold gaze followed him, studying him quickly in his progress. Her hatred confused him deeply, but he was relieved she was finally awake. He wasn't sure how to react to her anger, quickly putting up his wall to keep him guarded. His flicked his eyes up and down her form, checking to make sure she wasn't in too much pain, while trying to look indifferent.

"I take it you're feeling better?" He smirked.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "What did you do to me?"

InuYasha glared at her. "What are you getting on with now?"

"That night, when you were trying to take me. I saw something… something strange. Then I passed out and woke up here! What did you do!" She spat out at him.

InuYasha was stunned for a moment. 'She thought I was trying to take her by force? How could she possibly think…? I thought she was in pain from the attack, that's why she passed out. I thought… she wanted me too. Did I really take her by force? Oh Gods…. She said she wouldn't be taken. Why would she want to be taken by a worthless hanyou? How could I possibly think she would want me?' He felt his heart fall into the cold heat of his gut.

His eyes narrowed in hurt fury, trying desperately to squash the pain. "I didn't do anything to you, Bitch!"

Kagome glanced at him before turning her head away, too furious to look at him. She didn't know why she felt compelled to blame him. He didn't have that kind of power. She could sense that. But then there was the matter of him trying to seduce her. But could she deny she didn't want him? How could she possibly have let herself feel that way? He didn't love her. But what about his aura? When he touched her last night, she didn't see the creature she believed him to be. Instead she saw a man desperately wanting her, wanting so much for her to want him. But she couldn't consider that. She would be betraying her father's trust. Though she was now his mate, InuYasha was forever her father's enemy.

She scowled. "Keh."

InuYasha blinked at her and then growled. "You were hurt. You passed out. I carried your heavy ass and that fucking bag all the way here to save you thinking you were dying." He nearly choked on the word. "And you have the shit to blame me for it!"

Kagome looked back at him stunned, before lowering her head feeling ashamed. He took care of her after all. He brought her here, gave her his room, even had a small kitsune cub watch over her all this while. She shivered at the cool sensation of the medicine now absorbing into her flesh. He even healed her wounds, and had someone come in to tend to what he couldn't heal. Maybe he wasn't as bad as all that. Besides, if the small kit could think Sesshomaru as an evil monster, could she be wrong about InuYasha? Is it possible?

Watching and listening to him there in front of her (though his words and actions were different, very different), she could see her father in that look he gave her. She knew she was in the wrong about accusing him. She looked down and cringed. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" InuYasha thought for sure he entered bizarre world.

Kagome looked up at him again, then turned her face away to the balcony, scowling. "You heard me."

"Did you say 'I'm sorry'?"

Kagome didn't respond.

"Keh, you did." InuYasha gazed down at her and smirked.

"Don't let it get to your big, fat head."

"Hmph." He crossed his arms smugly.

Kagome looked up and scowled deeper. "Are you laughing at me?"

InuYasha's smirk grew wider. "I just didn't think you had it in you."

"Had what in me?"

"Class, etiquette," InuYasha leered, "a heart."

Kagome glared at him and her mouth dropped slightly. "You should talk…you had some nerve kissing me like…like…." Like what? A lecher? A lover? A mate? Whatever it was, it was….

Kagome sighed. It was wonderful, if it was real. If he really did like her, if he truly did think of her as a mate, then it was the best sensation she ever experienced. But that was just hopeful wished.

He only had her because she was Sesshomaru's daughter. She was a prize. Had he always known who she was from the beginning? Is that why he claimed her so readily? He had to if he found her and willingly 'claimed' her so quickly. She was a trophy, his last conquest of a long drawn out war. She cast her eyes down sadly.

That night, she let go of her doubt of him, what he stood for. For just for a moment, she let go of everything she believed, only for that inward doubt to be realized as truth. She was just a possession he was trying to win. And he was the enemy.

But then again, you cannot always believe what you hear. They think Sesshomaru was an evil monster.

She inwardly groaned indecisively. How can she make any sense of anything with her mind and heart fighting? What could she do, when she grew up believing one thing, only for one instant her heart wished it a lie?

But it couldn't be a lie. Though he was no longer her father's enemy, he still was her master and jailor. He had said that she was his.

'Oh why did he have to say that? What is going on in my mind? Please, I pray, let that voice die. Let that part that wishes for him… wishes for him to be what he is not, to die.'

That wish was like a small stone in her soul, rubbing her raw, so that all her attention was drawn to it. The voice would not go away. She was falling for a man that wanted to break her, wanted to…. She didn't even know what he wanted of her.

Kagome felt dejected, her face fell as her mind and heart strained against that growing voice, trying to strangle it. She will not be broken, though she felt like she always was.

InuYasha was silent against her retaliation. He did kiss her, and by the look of her face, she hated it. She looked so sad, like he had tried to take the world from her. Can he blame her? He had taken her from all she knew, and had almost taken _her_.

InuYasha looked at the balcony like she had done. He wanted to relieve her bindings, wanted to save her from this misery. He wanted to save her from him. But she was now his mate. It was for life. Could she spend the rest of her life like this? Could he? Could he spend his life not having her at all? He flicked his eyes at her and studied her for a moment, coming to a resolution. He would try whatever power he possessed to have her accept him.

"Yeah, well, you didn't seem to mind. I do recall an active part on your side." A risky move, he knew it, and hastily pushed a smirk to his face.

Kagome's face blushed brightly, being drawn out of her own thoughts. "You think too highly of your insignificant self. Do you have time to feed that high horse your on?"

A strained truce. Something they both could handle. Something they both grasped for readily.

InuYasha sniffed slightly. "Keh, get some rest, Bitch." He turned to go.

"Hey, Jackass?"

InuYasha turned around but did not look at her.

"What am I supposed to wear? You threw out my only clothes."

InuYasha turned his head to look at her fully, keeping his back to her still. He made it a point for her to see him sizing her up before nodding his head to the wardrobe beside him. "I got you everything you need in there."

He walked out, just in time to see Shippou walk to the door carrying a large tray of assorted foods for Kagome.

They both smiled sadly from different rooms. Silence was golden, but avoidance was heaven.


	8. Power of Touch

"GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGG!"

"Well, that's a little extreme and unnecessary don't you think?"

Kagome scowled at the retort and kicked the blankets off of her. "It's been ages, Sango! I've been staring at these walls forever. I'm sticky, I stink and I want out!" She crossed her arms with a huff.

Sango gazed at the prone girl laying on the futon. Her hair was in disarray and the yukata she was wearing was wrinkled and smelled of medicine. Her chest was still bruised, but not as dark as it once was. Most of it had faded to pink and yellow, though some of the blunt trauma was still a slight purple. Her skin was stained pale green from the salve used to help with the healing.

Yes, the poor girl needed a bath, but most of all she needed a change of pace. Sango could see the girl was going stir crazy. The whole manor could hear her pent up frustrations. InuYasha was wise to find himself another room on the opposite side of the manor while the girl healed, or the whole territory would hear them up in arms.

'Though him finding another room in order to let Kagome heal was not the complete reason.' Sango thought. She laughed at the sprawled girl on the bed. "It's only been two weeks, Kagome, and you needed to heal. But looking at you now, if you're well enough to wake the dead, you're well enough to get up and look around."

"Really?" Kagome sat up stiffly and stretched.

"Yes, but you have to take it easy." Sango frowned. Easier said than done.

Kagome hopped out of bed and winced. She swayed slightly, feeling dizzy as her tense, sore muscles unfurled. She realized she shouldn't have stood up so quickly and flopped unceremoniously back down on the mattress.

"Damn it, okay." The weak girl groaned, though she said it to her own body than she did to Sango.

The demon slayer smiled. The girl had spunk and they had quickly become friends over the last few weeks, but Sango still couldn't place something about the girl. Though her miko powers were intense, they seemed to be erratic to a point of worry. Kagome did not seem to be very disciplined for a miko, and the wild fluctuations of her aura proved it. Sango had a hard time believing the girl was all she appeared to be. Yet Kagome was full of humor and spontaneity. It was easy to ignore her atypical miko characteristics. No wonder InuYasha was so intrigued with her. The slayer just hoped he realized just what he might have gotten himself into. She eyed the girl covertly as she tidied up the room some before facing the girl.

"Come on." Sango held her hand out for Kagome to take to help her stand. "I'll take you down to the bath house to get you cleaned up and have a look around."

The young miko smiled thankfully and again stood, wobbling as she tested her muscles and balance. Kagome's twisted ankle had healed well, but was still slightly stiff. It was only a minor sprain, and she could easily walk on it, but she appreciated the slayer's assistance all the same.

She was led to the chamber door leading to the rest of the manor and Kagome's mood brightened significantly. Finally, freedom at last!

Well, freedom for a person mated to an arrogant prick, living in a place she had no idea where, and being supported to walk by a demon hunter bodyguard, wearing nothing but a thin, cotton yukata that was a bit too large for her, and that slipped almost too often to show the most inappropriate parts to make it shameful to go anywhere. But aside from all that it was freedom all the same.

Standing in the open hallway, Kagome finally got a look at her bearings. It was revitalizing, it was refreshing, and it was…. It was…. It wasn't much.

Kagome frowned and gazed up and down the corridor. The hallway stretched to the right and left of her. It ended at the borders to her exceedingly large room. She could make out stairs leading down on both sides so she could only assume they were on the top floor.

Her chamber door behind her was the only door on the floor, but she wasn't surprised. The room she was staying in was huge, though sparsely furnished. The hallway only had one saving grace and that was the wall in front of her. It was gray slate, like the rest of the manor, but it was lined with large glassed windows that let light shine in and brighten the corridor.

She staggered towards a window and looked out. She gaped in awe. The view was amazing. Wild grassy fields stretched into an autumn touched forest. The colors were vivid in the morning sun. Reds, oranges, yellows and greens flickered and flowed in the breeze. The only thing that dulled the forest was the ocean beyond. Its royal blue waters cast into the horizon as far as she could see. Its waves were only speckles, like diamonds, glittering from the light of the sky.

She had never seen anything so amazing. The Western Territory only had a view of the mountains from the north and sparse woodlands, but never had she seen so much in the way of color and life as she did at that moment.

Sango smiled. "Welcome to the Eastern Territory, also known as InuYasha's Forest."

Kagome glanced over at Sango but didn't respond as the slayer led her to a staircase to their left. She kept peeking out of the remaining windows as they walked, too inspired to want to look anywhere else. The outside was alive and warm and wild. Her heart thundered slightly, wanting to cast herself out into it. Sea birds floated on the currents of wind, sometimes camouflaging with the white fluffy clouds overhead. She wanted so badly to just keep watching, but there was still so much to explore.

Reaching the next level down, Kagome could see that the overall shape of the manor was like a squared horseshoe, with her own chamber being the top floor.

She was about to step out from the staircase to have a look, but Sango explained that many of these rooms were empty chambers and there was little to see of interest. However there was a large library that was situated underneath her own chamber and when she wanted could explore at her own leisure.

Kagome wondered if this is where InuYasha has been staying, and if so, which room? But she shook her head quickly telling herself she didn't care. Descending down the same set of stairs, they made it to the ground level.

"This floor would normally be the public domain since it's the main floor. The kitchen and cooks' quarters are on the opposite corridor from where we are now. A grand room takes up the center, as well as the main entrance, and the bath chambers and servants quarters takes up this side." Sango explained.

Kagome nodded. Compared to Otou-san's manor, this was relatively small and quaint, but it was clean, airy and bright. She loved it.

"The bath chambers are where?" She cast her eyes around before looking at Sango.

The slayer grinned. "Follow me."

She led Kagome out of the winding stair well to the open corridor of the main floor and finally down the hallway to its end. A finely decorated oak door was their destination. Sango smiled proudly as she opened the door to reveal what was inside. Kagome's jaw nearly dropped.

The bath chamber was actually a very large hot spring incorporated into the manor. Black slate made up the walls and the floor, creating an erotic and sensual feel. Benches and herbal baskets lined the walls, as well as towels and bath buckets. Steam filled the room, which escaped through small vents in the walls to the outside. A glass ceiling made the room shine from the mid-morning sun, and the steam on windows made enough privacy to make the room completely secluded. The entire place smelled sweet and heavenly, and Kagome's whole body nearly melted from the relaxing atmosphere.

"Years ago, InuYasha's father discovered this hot spring and built the manor around it. It was a wedding gift for InuYasha's mother." Sango smiled sadly. "When she passed away it was left to InuYasha, as well as all the land surrounding it."

Kagome looked stunned at Sango. She knew that Sesshomaru and InuYasha shared the same father, but she never knew much about her adopted grandfather's life beyond that. He had died long before Sesshomaru took her in, and because of the dishonor of the birth of InuYasha placed in Sesshomaru's house, little was spoken about either. From the stories she heard, she just assumed the mating of the human woman by her grandfather was a mistake, since Sesshomaru often referred to InuYasha as such. She did not know that they were married, nor that this was a home they shared. Why didn't Sesshomaru tell her that? And why did he fight so long over something that was not rightfully his? If it were true that their father had left this land for InuYasha.

Sango watched Kagome's confused and mystified expression. She knew that she must have a lot of questions, but there was plenty of time, and better places to discuss such things. She smiled warmly.

"There are several herbs to wash in, towels are at your disposal, and basins of cold water to rinse in when you are done. Leave your yukata here, I will bring you a fresh robe to wear up to your room." With that, Sango left the girl to her own devices.

Kagome stood there alone looking around for a long while, feeling out of place all of a sudden. But seeing as how she really needed a wash, there wasn't much she could do. Eventually she made her way to the basins lining the wall, choosing light smelling herbs to wash with. Casting off the old yukata, she set herself down into the hot water and reveled in its warmth. Her body began to hum with pleasure, but her mind was spinning. Many things needed to be answered, but the one person she trusted to ask was now gone. She could no longer see him, no matter how bad her heart called for him.

"Otou-san, what had really happened? Nothing I was told seems to be real. I don't understand. Oh, Otou…nothing is simple anymore. Nothing is how I thought it was, how I thought it would be. InuYasha is not what I thought… he is not what I was made to believe… is he?" Kagome leaned her front against the stone rim of the hot pool and sighed.

No, nothing seemed right anymore. Her mind was trying to tell her what she ought to believe, but her heart….

Truth. She begged and thirsted for truth. But where would one find truth when she was taught never to trust the very people who had the answers? 'Okay then… so where do I go from here?'

Kagome thought for a while and breathed out wearily. She shook her head. 'What other choice do I have?' If she wanted to know the answers, she would just have to find out the other side of the story. It was just a matter of finding out who to ask.

It was some time later when she finally got out of the spring. She deftly doused a bucket of cold water over her body, rinsing away the lather and sweat, leaving her body slightly pink and tingly all over. Sputtering, she stumbled naked around the room looking for the towels to dry her now blinded eyes of the water. She was beginning to wonder what had ever happened to Sango when she heard the oak door open.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long. I thought I had to make it back up to the room naked." Kagome giggled, blindly grabbing for a towel and patted her face dry.

Not hearing any response, she turned her head to the door and yelped.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Kagome yelled and gathered the towel hastily around her, fumbling with the folds in order to cover herself. "Is it a habit for you to barge in when ever I bathe?"

A very intimidating looking hanyou said nothing as he cast his eyes over her.

Damn it, where did he learn that look? Kagome squirmed a bit under his gaze. Her skin flushed darker, especially since she noticed he was barely clothed as well.

He wore a red hakama and a devilish smile. His hair was hanging in tousled damp strands and it was cast all around him. Whatever he was doing before he arrived he was doing it with a lot of exertion, since his body gleamed under droplets of sweat.

Kagome swallowed. Her mouth had gone suddenly dry, and she spun her gaze quickly away. 'Look anywhere else, for the love of all that's good and gracious….'

A sound caught her attention. He was walking over to her! She swept her eyes back at him and attempted a glare. What was he planning now?

He moved like an animal ready for a kill - lightly, sensually, and sinewy. His eyes were dangerously soft, inviting, and enticing. They lavished over her body so hungrily she had to clench her fists, digging her nails into her flesh to keep her from shivering in desire. 'Gods, why does he do that to me? He is an overbearing, heartless, sexually dominating, beautiful … damn it!'

"Not quite." He finally drawled an answer to her long forgotten question. He walked around her once, inches away, as if calculating her weaknesses, before stopping in front of her.

'Too close!' Her mind screamed, but she refused to move. She would not give him the satisfaction of daunting her.

He bent his head to brush his lips over her ear, tickling her neck and cheek with his whispered breath and soft mane.

"Seeing you naked was never a habit, but I'll make it one." He purred that same growl that made her whole body tremble, almost screaming for her to say 'shut up and fuck me!'

Kagome closed her eyes and involuntarily breathed in his sweet, wonderful musk. 'Oh fuck me, what do I do?' He moved so close that her breasts were touching his chest. The faint rumbling of his growl was teasing her already hardened nipples under the thin towel she had tried using to hide her modesty.

He was still leaning over her, his face now hovering over her neck and shoulder, breathing deep breaths of her. Still, Kagome could not bring herself to move or open her eyes to watch him. Now it was no longer her need to act superior, now it was the fear that she would entangle herself into her uncontrollable desires. The emotions she felt when he was near were so overwhelming that she could almost swear she could see them. Things around her felt like they were pulsing, radiating into her, and she was quickly becoming drugged by the rhythm and feel of it all. Her mind began to drift into oblivion, trying to will her body into submission.

She heard soft panting and realized it was she. 'Oh no, is that coming from me!'

Kagome shut her mouth quickly and snapped her eyes open, trying in some way to gain control. She felt slightly buzzed, yet oddly content. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to lean into him and taste the skin that smelled so male and so arousing.

She flinched her head and blinked. She had to concentrate on something else. Stay strong… stay resolute….

Staring ahead she saw his golden shoulder, haloed by ethereal white hair. He seemed to be practically glowing. _Glowing?_ Her lids lowered lazily. He looked so smooth and strong. She could see the muscles flow with every small movement he made. It was hypnotic.

A sound, like a loud heartbeat, thudded with each throb of desire she felt for him. She swayed slightly from the small shock waves of energy pulses, coming from gods knew where. She reflexively reached a hand out to touch the shoulder in front of her to steady herself and leaned into him.

Her eyes were drawn to the contrast of their skins; silver and gold, yet both were surrounded by a halo of white light, spiked with blues and pinks. Where did this light come from?

She blinked, trying to clear her sight and mind. Instead her eyes focused on movement. She watched as a bead of sweat traveled down his shoulder, catching on his collarbone. She gazed at it longingly. Her expression turned drunkenly peaceful, forgetting where she was, and whom it was she was now pressing against.

The droplet of sweat flashed and flickered enticingly. Kagome's eyes crinkled in confusion as she studied it. A rainbowed glaze swirled on its surface, beckoning her, before it dropped onto her chest. She could feel it slide down between her breasts, tickling her already sensitive skin, but her attention was soon drawn elsewhere.

She could hear growling and it was getting stronger, more urgent. What was that?She blinked several times trying to find her bearings. The glowing flesh in front of her was getting stronger and brighter…. The hanyou became sharper in contrast and she could see him more clearly than anything she had ever seen.

"In…Inu…Yasha?" She breathed. The pulses of their auras were washing over her in waves and she leaned heavily against him, both for support, but also to draw in more of his life energy that she had become addicted to.

InuYasha couldn't believe it. Kagome was in his arms, and she wasn't fighting him, in fact, she was leaning into him. He couldn't be imagining that.

'Oh fuck, Kagome.' He clenched his eyes closed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her for dear life. His whole world was in this moment. Even the touch of her was making him throb with love and desire, and she seemed to sway into him with rhythmic ease. 'She has to feel it too, doesn't she?'

He thanked every god imaginable that he decided to come to the hot spring at this very moment. He had overexerted himself once again while in the training room, trying desperately to purge his physical needs out on his fighting. He had come to the bath chamber only to douse away his morning exercise, but instead found her here, achingly beautiful and naked.

Her smart ass scolding of him made him smile, but her regal, overbearing attitude made him want to tease and stoke her fiery temper. He had only intended to make her feel submissive under him, expecting she would retaliate and fight back. Instead, she stood steadfast, and attempted to ignore him. She even attempted to stare him down when he approached Oh, damn, she looked so good.Her hair was slicked back, her eyes stormy, and her scent… gods, it was enough to have him want to beg on his knees for more.

He had towered over her to taunt her, but she still stood fast against his tormenting. It aggravated him to no end. He wanted her to submit.

He had rested his face between her shoulder and neck, growling lustily, blatantly asking for a feisty Kagome to emerge to fight, but again, she just stood there and… panted? His ears had twitched in desperate questioning.

When her hand rested lightly on his shoulder, he nearly bucked at the sensual touch. He was not prepared for this, but he would not let go now for the life of him.

Her scent had changed too. It was unbelievable. So wild and alive, like spring rain, summer sun, autumn wind and winter breath. How was that possible? She smelled of life itself. He couldn't bring himself to move from that spot, and as much as her smell confused him, it captivated him more.

His growl had deepened in a possessive claim, begging her body to respond to him, and not turn him away, not now.

"In… Inu… Yasha?"

Her soft voice reached him tenderly, and he opened his eyes to see that they were glazed and hooded by her black tendrils. Her voice sounded raspy with need, yet so achingly innocent. Fuck, her whole being felt so warm and intoxicating. He needed her. He needed her now! His hands slowly reached for the folds of her towel.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The heavy knocking at the door made the two jump back in surprise. Stunned, Kagome pushed herself off the hanyou and inadvertently collided her back into the stone wall behind her. Her mind still swayed as the room reverted back to normal, but the senses of her body were quickly collecting together. Realization at what they were doing finally dawned on her and she paled.

Sango poked her head around the door, "Kagome, are you…? Oh, InuYasha…."

Her eyes quickly scanned the scene. Kagome looked pale and unrecognizable, while InuYasha seemed to be fisting his hands so hard blood dripped to the floor. Sango was not quite sure what to do, rescue the girl or rescue InuYasha. She could not see InuYasha's face, since he was turned away from her, but the expression on Kagome's face was murderous.

The girl in question tucked the towel tighter around her and glared hatefully at the hanyou, but his eyes were hooded by his silken bangs and his countenance frightened her. He stood tall and unmoving, his muscles tight. She had never felt an aura so formidable. Kagome almost shivered under its weight. She looked away quickly, and cast her eyes on the demon slayer waiting by the door.

She attempted to step lightly around the half demon, her body on edge, as if expecting him to grab her as she passed by him, but he did not. He just remained stone still and she could sense a prismatic collage of emotions running through his aura. She inhaled in shock and stood still beside him, looking at him fully for the first time. An aura always told a person's true feelings, and the emotions she read from him stunned her to the core.

'He…he feels….' She shook her head quickly. 'No, that's not possible…he can't possibly feel that way!'

Her eyes again could see the white light beginning to grow and echo off the hanyou and herself. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to dispel what she was seeing and feeling. Snapping her eyes open, she looked quickly upon the demon slayer, only to see the same halo of light, but it was now dissipating around Sango. What was going on? What was happening? What the hell was this light?

In fright and uncertainty, Kagome ran from the chamber, sidestepping around the slayer in her haste to escape.

Glimpsing at an unresponsive InuYasha, Sango hesitantly followed after the girl, shutting the door heavily behind her.

Immediately a loud roar emitted around the bath chamber as InuYasha took two steps towards the stone wall in front of him. He raked his claws deeply into it while collapsing on his knees on the hard stone ground. He heaved in several gulps of air trying to regain his breath but was failing miserably. He was in so much pain it was hard to breathe. His hard shaft was pounding tightly within his hakama, but not as hard as his heart was. He felt as if he was in a desperate battle, and he was quickly losing everything.

He rested his forehead against the cool surface of the wall and growled. 'Oh Gods, Kagome, you're going to be the death of me….'

She ran from him. Again he had chased her away. One thing was becoming obviously clear; he could not be with Kagome like this again. Next time he would not be able to control himself. Next time someone may not be fortunate enough to save her from him. 'Kagome…you're killing me, and I can't get enough.'

No, he could not be near her again, he knew that. But he also knew, he could never stay away.


	9. Enter Wise Monk

"Kagome." Sango called.

A bang from her chamber door as it slammed open was her response.

"Kagome!"

She gave a slight growl and quickened her pace into her chamber.

"Kagome, will you please talk to me!" Sango grabbed the girl's shoulder and spun her around.

"What!" Kagome yelled.

Sango raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"What the hell happened down there? Did he hurt you? For the love of fuck if he even touched you wrong, I'll…." Sango quickly turned to head to the door.

"No."

"Huh?"

Kagome slumped dejectedly onto her bed. "No, he didn't… he didn't do anything wrong." 'At least I don't think…. I don't know.'

"Then what is it?" Sango moved to sit beside her.

"Sango… I…," Kagome cast her gaze about and sighed. "I don't know. I think I was in the hot spring too long. I was starting to get dizzy and I think I might have been hallucinating."

"Hallucinating? Kagome, what did you see?" Sango looked the girl over in concern.

Kagome opened her mouth, but no words could describe it, for it wasn't just what she saw, it was what she felt. It was like the whole room was alive, like she could sense the very stone talking to her.

She shook her head. "Oh, it was nothing really, just things were a little fuzzy." 'Not to mention InuYasha was… is….' She sighed.

'I thought maybe he was using me, but not after what I felt. But that's not possible. He couldn't have felt that way. And what about that strange light? Could he have made it? Could he have done something to change his aura so I would think differently of how he truly felt?' She frowned in distaste.

"Kagome? Did … did InuYasha… um…." Sango searched the room desperately, as if some corner would have the question or answer she was looking for.

Kagome cast her eyes down and lifted her legs on the bed to rest her chin on her knees. "No, he… he didn't touch me, but…."

"But what?"

"Does… Can he…?" Kagome cast her frightfully innocent eyes up at Sango. "Does InuYasha know anything about… manipulating auras?"

"InuYasha? Hell no! He's nothing but brawn! And luckily some brain." Sango giggled, but seeing the nervousness in Kagome's face, she quickly sobered. "No, InuYasha has never had the capability or discipline to learn such things. The only thing he has of such power is Tetsusaiga."

"Tetsusaiga?" Kagome looked up at the slayer, and fiddled with a hem of her towel.

"It's his sword. Goodness, I thought everyone knew about that." Sango breathed.

Kagome nodded slowly. "Yes. I remember. Sesshomaru thought it was too powerful for InuYasha. But I don't know the history of it."

Sango pursed her lips, wondering what information she should divulge. "Tetsusaiga was one of two swords made from the fangs of InuYasha's and Sesshomaru's father. It was ordered that each be given a sword to protect life. For so much did their father love a mortal woman, did he make sure his power lived on to protect mortality."

Sango further explained. "InuYasha was given Tetsusaiga, the Steel Cleaving Fang, with the capability to destroy one hundred demons with one strike. Sesshomaru was given…."

"Tensaiga. The Heavenly Life Fang… the sword with the ability to revive one hundred lives." Kagome whispered, remembering her father's sword. It was the sword he never touched, though always carried with him. Even as he stood in dead villages and battlefields, he never used the sword.

His soft voice echoed in her mind. 'It is the folly of one's mind to believe that escaping death is escaping mortality. One may later wonder, when all they had known had gone and nothing is as it was, if life is an escape from immortality. It is but an inevitable.'

'Otou….' Kagome's heart lurched and she ducked her head into her knees to fight the tears wanting to form.

"Yes." Sango replied, breaking her from her thoughts. "Kagome, why do you ask such things?"

Kagome lifted her face to study her friend. Could she bring herself to trust these people completely? She knew Sango was telling the truth, she didn't need to grace her aura to test that. It was the fact that she couldn't be convinced that InuYasha had no such power to manipulate the auras around him. Could it be that it was an uncanny coincidence that this weird light happened just when he was there?

If that was the case why did it happen? What was the light? What powers did it hold? And why did it look to come from him?

Too many questions filled her mind and she had no idea what to say or where to start. Instead she just shook her head. "No real reason. It's nothing."

Kagome's trembling under her towel caught the slayer's attention. She slapped the girl's arm and giggled. "Whatever. Come on, let's get you dressed." She stood and fought the unease she felt over the whole situation. Kagome was an enigma, but she was an innocent. There was nothing that could be said or done until the girl acted upon her instinct. Sango internally frowned. 'I just hope she'll let me know when she is ready.'

-+-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A scream echoed over InuYasha's Forest. Several heads poked out of nests, lairs and dens to look towards the stone manor in fright.

"Kagome, calm down." Sango winced.

"He can't expect me to wear any of this!" Kagome wailed.

Sango shook her fingers in her ears, trying to stop the ringing.

"Kagome," she cringed, her voice sounding hollow in her head. "They are the most finely crafted clothing made. Any Hime would be delighted in wearing such… things."

"Sango!" Kagome fumed and hefted a silken kimono that was several layers thick. "The lightest thing in here is eighty pounds." She dropped it on the floor in haste and frustration. "Does it look like I ever wore stuff like this? Darn it, if I had I would never have left my room because I couldn't even drag my sorry ass out of it!"

Sango busted laughing. "I know. They are rather ridiculous."

"I'll be damned if the bastard thinks I'm going to wear any of this." The miko huffed.

"It's that or what you're wearing." A guttural growl emitted from the doorway.

'Doesn't he ever knock?' Kagome glared at the half demon. She had put on a cotton kosode in anticipation of what her wardrobe would be. It was forest green, and barely reached her knees. But now it seems it was either wear a half-ton frilly mess, or her underwear. She sighed angrily. Well, that meant she only had one choice.

Kagome stalked over to the hanyou and gave him a furious glare, before she passed him beside the doorway wearing nothing but her kosode.

A stunned InuYasha turned and grabbed her arm. "Whoa, wait, bitch! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like?" She ripped her arm from his grasp and headed towards the staircase on the right. "Might as well see what the kitchen is like…."

"Oh fuck no!" He grabbed her again, this time lifting her up and carrying her into the bedchamber. "You are not leaving this room until you get dressed!"

"I am dressed!" She kicked herself out of his arms and stood in front of him like a cute ball of fury. "You just said it was either this or that!" She pointed to the mess her wardrobe was in. "And I rather wear this kosode than be caught dead in whatever all that crap is! What possessed your mind to think anyone _liked_ wearing that death trap you call clothes?"

InuYasha gaped, and then crossed his arms angrily. "That's the finest clothes made for someone of your status, you ingrate! But it's quite obvious you're not meant for class considering I could have heard your banshee wail all across the territory!"

Kagome growled at him, and made to walk to the door again.

"Where do you think you're going?" He growled and grabbed her arm once more, hauling her back.

Kagome spun around and tried to wrench her arm back but he tightened his hold. "Where do you think? Out!"

"You are NOT going out in THAT!"

"FINE!"

"Huh?" He let go of her arm in confusion.

Kagome stormed over to the bed and sat down hard, glaring daggers at him. "I see one of two options. I either remain in this room wearing what I have on now, or be STUCK in this room because I won't be able to get out wearing those!" She nodded her head to the wardrobe.

InuYasha closed his eyes. He felt a headache coming on. 'But hanyous don't get headaches.' His brain reminded him.

"Fine, stay in here." InuYasha stalked up to her, his aura fierce and hard. "And if I catch sight of you out of this room without proper clothing, I will make sure you have NOTHING to wear." He scanned his eyes slowly up her, his chest heaving in a guttural growl. "And I would love for you to force me to that."

Kagome's eyes widened before she turned her head away in distaste. "Keh."

InuYasha turned and stormed out of the room, "Come on, Sango, you have your own duties to attend to. You are no longer needed here."

Sango looked like she wanted to protest, but the metallic glare she got from him as he passed by made her not want to piss him off even more. She nodded and quickly gave Kagome a saddened smile before following him out.

The door shut hard and a faint click echoed behind it.

Kagome couldn't believe it. She jumped from the bed and ran to the door and struggled to open it. Just as she thought. Locked…. Well, it looks like the War of the Wills has chosen its new battlefield.

-+-

"Don't you think they're drawing this out to the extreme?" Shippou griped as he peeled some carrots. "I haven't been allowed to see her at all."

"No one has, Shippou." Sango replied gloomily. She was sitting at the table wiping down a large bone boomerang distractedly. "But InuYasha has his reasons." 'Although they are stupid, childish, not to mention down right ineffective!'

Both were discussing the situation in the Manor's kitchen. It was a large room with landscape windows on either side. A large doorway leading to the center gardens stood open to their right. The view from this side revealed the gardens, naturally, made up of various fruits, vegetables, herbs, as well as exotic trees and greenery. The view also held a large stone terrace, en suite the grand room, and beyond that the left wing that harboured the bath chamber. It was a cloudy morning, but flecks of sun promised a warm afternoon.

"Why won't she just wear those kimono things? She'd be let out then. It's just clothing." Shippou whined.

"I believe it has moved on to beyond mere clothing." A voice replied behind Sango.

"Miroku!" Shippou leapt up into the monk's arms as he walked in from the gardens.

"Houshi." Sango did not bother to look up.

"Ah Sango, are you still upset with me, my love?" The monk feigned hurt.

Sango did not reply, but her aura shot out venom.

Miroku moved to stand beside her sitting form. "But I see you let me stand in your divine presence now. Perhaps you have found it within your gracious heart and peaceful soul to forgive me?"

Sango only shot daggers at him with her black gaze before turning back to her chore.

Shippou jumped out of Miroku's arms, and out of potential harm's way. The monk gulped and stepped back from the look. Okay, maybe another day will be needed.

"I take it Lady Kagome has still not been let out of her room?" Miroku gracefully changed the subject.

"No, and it's been three whole days!" The kitsune exclaimed.

"Both InuYasha and Lady Kagome have strong wills." Miroku quipped.

"I think they are both stupidly stubborn!" The kit said while tossing some peeled potatoes into a wooden bowl.

"Perhaps. But as I have said before, it has moved on beyond mere clothing. It has become a challenge for dominance. Something both InuYasha and Lady Kagome want to claim." Miroku moved to sit at the table near Sango, but changed his mind when she lifted her fist menacingly.

"And what knowledge have you about anything, Monk? Any dominance you have tried has ended with you having a black eye!" The hanyou growled as he entered the kitchen.

The monk regarded the hanyou coolly. "Perhaps, but I have also learned compromise often quells the desired needs of both parties."

"So, what? You mean by touching the girl's ass you get what you want, and her hitting you is getting what she wants?" A furious Sango leapt up and jabbed the monk's chest with her finger.

"Ahhhh…" Miroku rubbed the back of his neck, then quickly grabbed Sango's hands. "Dearest Sango, you are so wonderful. To obviously care for me so much that you are jealous over my dire attempts to find love. But now truly seeing how you feel for me, my hands will only grace the finest…."

"HENTAI!" Sango swung hard and the slap echoed around the kitchen.

Miroku brought his hand painfully away from her ass. A red handprint began to glow fierce on his cheek.

"Keh, and you, Grand Sage, plan to tell me how to handle Kagome?" InuYasha sneered and crossed his arms.

The monk sighed and rubbed his cheek. "I wasn't about to tell you anything. I just happen to know that compromise and tact is the better course of action than locking the poor girl up in her room until she agrees to wear clothing that she quite obviously hates."

"Houshi is right, InuYasha." Sango said. "To be honest, why force the girl to wear something you both don't appreciate?"

"What the hell are you talking about!" InuYasha spat.

"Those dresses you had made are meant for people who live a different lifestyle than what either you or Kagome had lived. Can you honestly say she should be something she is not, and foremost, do you want to dress her in something you abhor?" Miroku rationalized.

InuYasha looked away thoughtfully before he growled in frustration. "Miroku, go talk to Kagome."

"What! Why me?" Miroku look startled.

"Because of three reasons. One, she will respect what you have to say because you're a monk and you're impartial. Two, Sango will obviously side with Kagome, so I will get nowhere with her there." The hanyou rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Sango crossed her arms.

"And three, because I said so!" InuYasha barked and cracked his claws in front of the monk's face.

Miroku gulped.

"Besides," InuYasha crossed his arms once again and looked outside in an attempt to see the balcony of Kagome's room. "She won't talk to me."

"Fine, I'll go." Miroku walked to the corridor leading to the stairs, but then turned around. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't care, just 'compromise'!" The hanyou spat and quoted his fingers.

Miroku started up the stairs, mumbling something incoherent.

"Oh and Miroku?

The monk stopped mid-step and looked down. "What?"

"If you touch her, I will kill you." InuYasha said bitingly.

"Not if I get to him first." Sango vented.

Miroku paled and trotted quickly up the stairs.

-+-

Kagome had woken up that morning to the same four walls, the same red wood furniture, and the same damned room she had aptly called 'The Standoff."

She sighed and wondered if she should even bother getting out of bed. Instead, she went about her routine she had started when this whole mess began. She walked to the balcony and opened the doors to the outside. She stood and basked in the fine day that promised to be even finer.

She had come to memorize her surroundings now. This side was apparently the west end. The sun rose on the ocean's side, which she could no longer see since she stuck in here, and it set on this side, towards the distant mountains and her father's domain.

She loved this view. It was like waking up and being able to say good morning to all those she had left behind. The view on this side was also breathtaking. Below she could see the manor's vast garden, and beyond that was open lands and wild fields. Her first day locked in she noticed that the fields also harboured a small village with an active community. Over the last couple of days she had watched as horses grazed, along with cattle and sheep. She enjoyed watching the people's routine as they set about their days.

Beyond the fields was more colourful forest stretching far and wide. Blue traces of the mountains near her father's home also could be seen on a clear day. The sound of the ocean could be heard on the wind, and the air was always fresh. It was breathtaking and beautiful. Under different circumstances, she would have loved to call this place home.

Looking around, she again scoped her surroundings. To her right was the left wing that had the enclosed hot spring on the lower level and chambers on the second floor. To her left was the right wing that had the kitchen on the ground level and chambers above it as well. Below her balcony were large glassed windows of the library, and below that was the stone terrace of the grand hall. She had judged the distance down and figured it was about a hundred feet. She sighed. 'Better get it over with….'

She opened the wardrobe to take out a hideous lime green and brown and pink mess. She felt slightly ill looking at it before pulling the folds apart. She had started this plan late last night when the idea finally pushed itself upon her and she now worked diligently to finish it.

A soft knocking at the door caught her attention.

Kagome didn't bother to glance up as she sorted through layers of the dress. "I'm not hungry. Please take it away." She then quickly added. "But thanks anyways."

An unfamiliar voice filtered through the door. "Um, my Lady? I am here as a request to speak with you in matters of said confinement."

Kagome turned sharply, dropping the hideous dress in the process. "Huh?"

"I'm here to mediate a compromise."

Kagome gasped and swept together the dress on the floor and kicked it back into the wardrobe with the others and shut the wardrobe door quickly. "Um…. Come in."

A young man entered the room. He had short black hair that ended in a small ponytail. His eyes were a striking blue, but what set him off most were his black and purple robes and a staff that emanated great spiritual power.

"He sent a monk?" Kagome tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes, my Lady." He bowed his head. "My name is Miroku and I feel very much for your predicament. Yours and the Lord InuYasha's."

Kagome eyed him suspiciously. His aura was sincere, but there was something tickling the back of her mind she couldn't place.

"And you were sent here to do what?"

The monk looked her up and down, taking in her attire.

Kagome was wearing a kosode that was white on top and green below the waist. She blushed under his glance and felt ashamed to be wearing this in front of a man of such high moral and spiritual repute.

He cast his eyes to gaze intently into hers. "I have been sent by the Lord InuYasha as a mediator to relieve this angst caused on the Manor."

Again, Kagome felt terrible. 'Was I bringing such shame and embarrassment to the Manor in the way I am behaving?' She cast her eyes down.

"And what must we do, Lord Monk?" Kagome whispered in humility.

Miroku moved to sit on the bed and patted it for her to join him. "I believe that InuYasha now understands that you are not of such tastes as he had anticipated and is willing to redeem himself by suiting to your own pleasures."

Kagome cheered up significantly at those words and moved to sit beside the monk. "And what have I to do to help this situation?"

"I believe asking for the wardrobe you are now wearing should right every wrong."

Kagome's eyes blasted wide open by those words, and by the hand now gently squeezing her ass.

The room ignited in lightening blue from Kagome's fury. "YOU PERVERT!"

Miroku was never entirely sure _what_ had hit him, only just sure of where, as he was kicked out of the room sporting two black eyes, a bloody nose, a possible cracked rib and a very tender groin.

Kagome slammed the door shut behind him and never stopped her swearing streak as she pulled the last dress from the wardrobe she had taken out earlier. Her rant seemed to fuel her rage as she began to rip it to shreds and tie the ends to various fabrics. 'The nerve of that damned monk! The nerve of that damned hanyou! Thinking that sending an obviously deranged man to repulse me out of my resolve…. Well, he will get another thing coming! Finally! Finished!'

Miroku limped into the kitchen a long while later, namely after he gained consciousness, and grinned widely. "A truly fabulous creature! You are definitely blessed, InuYasha!"

Sango cried out at seeing him and ran to support the now staggering monk before he fell.

InuYasha gaped at him. "Holy fuck! She nearly killed you! That bitch is crazy!"

Both looked up at the hanyou who seemed ready to kill, but what caught their attention was what was happening beyond the doorway behind the hanyou.

Before he could move to the stairs to yell at the girl above them, Sango dropped Miroku unceremoniously into a nearby chair and glared hard at the dog-demon.

"Think about this clearly, InuYasha." Sango fumed. "Kagome may not be reasonable at times, but she is not psychotic. Why would you think she would do something like this to Miroku?"

InuYasha looked at the monk who was obviously not looking at him but behind him. 'As if ignoring me will save you!'

"I told you if you touched her I would kill you!" He roared and his claws cracked in fury.

Sango gaped at the door behind the hanyou and hastily stepped in front of the monk. "In… InuYasha… um… ah…." She looked around quickly for some sort of distraction, her eyes falling on the man behind her who was grinning ear to ear at what he was watching outside. She back kicked him in the shin to get him out of his stupor before continuing.

"Don't you think by the looks of Miroku that he has been given his just punishment? I mean, look at the Lech! He's grinning like an idiot. He may very well have a concussion!"

InuYasha glared at both of them before he broke out in a grin. "Yeah, she did get him good."

"And don't you think you should go talk to her?" Sango quickly said.

"What? Why?" The hanyou looked worried.

"Because, though Miroku may have had the best intentions, he may have made things worse. And him going up on your behalf would definitely make her opinion of you even less! Especially after what he just did to her, whatever that may have been." Sango shot her eyes furiously at the monk behind her.

InuYasha glowered at the monk. "Yeah, you're probably right." He pointed angrily at the prone man. "If you messed this up for me, Monk, I'm sending you back to that village where I found you and let them take care of you!"

Miroku flicked his eyes from the door to the half-demon. He gulped and nodded quickly.

Hastily, InuYasha left the kitchen to make his way up to the main chamber.

Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku turned their faces to the open door as they watched Kagome climb the last of the kimono rope to the terrace. She looked quickly around and caught sight of them through the doorway. She grinned like the cat that just ate the canary, gave them both a devil's head hand gesture, and darted through the garden to the wilds beyond, wearing nothing but her underwear.

"Yes, a truly fantastic creature," Miroku smiled, "I just hope InuYasha knows what he has gotten himself into."

Sango only nodded.


	10. Unsolid Ground

Kagome ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She was pent up on adrenaline and she had to catch herself from laughing or else lose her stamina. She had cleared the garden in mere minutes and was now half way across the grain field. Only then did she chance to look behind her to see if InuYasha was made aware her escape. As an extra precaution, she dulled her aura and zigged and zagged through the terrain, and around cattle and sheep, hoping it would stall the dog senses of the 'Warden.' She giggled uncontrollably when she finally made it to the stables of the small village and ducked inside.

Once she was inside the open doorway of the stable did she finally relax. She leaned against the doorframe to catch her breath and hide at the same time. She imagined the look on the hanyou's face and she began to breathlessly laugh. But she knew he would come for her once he found out and she had precious little time to enjoy her freedom. Sounds of snorting and clopping drew her out of her glee of escape and into her natural element.

Growing up, she refused to live the life of a princess. Instead, she embraced anything that allowed her to be in nature. The kennels and the stables of her manor were her closest thing, since she was never allowed beyond the castle walls. For some reason, she felt more comfortable in the company of animals than with people or demons. Animals didn't cloud her thoughts or constrict her soul. Matters of the heart and mind did not confuse them. When she was alone with them, she could let go all the restrictions she had to hold around others, and just be Kagome.

She breathed in deep the earthy smell of the freshly cleaned out stalls and began to walk lightly inside. She was glad she wrapped scraps of dress around her feet as make shift shoes or else she'd be a little grossed out walking around barefoot.

Looking casually around, she saw that most of the twelve stalls were empty, since many of the horses were out to pasture. But two horses did remain. One was a brown stallion, old but firm. He was friendly and nibbled at her fingers as she stroked his velvet nose. He seemed to have been regularly spoiled. At the far end was the other.

Kagome stood transfixed at the tall creature tied up in the back. It was a white stallion, a very wild white stallion.

She took a small step closer to it before he raised his head and bucked against his ropes.

"You better not get any closer."

Kagome whirled around and clenched her chest, but sighed in relief. It was just a boy.

The teenaged boy looked up at her curiously. His brown eyes looked familiar, as did many of his features. He had scruffy brown hair, and a few freckles graced his nose. He looked shy but nice.

"I'm sorry?" Kagome breathed once her heart stopped beating in fright.

He blushed slightly as if in realization and looked down. "The last one to go near him is still recuperating."

Kagome smiled and nodded. "I understand. I'll be careful."

"Um, my Lady?" The boy still refused to look at her.

"You know who I am?" She started.

"Yes," he replied, looking at his feet. "Everyone knows you, Lady Kagome. You are Lord InuYasha's wife."

Kagome sighed. "Yes, but it's not who I am."

The boy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, my Lady?"

"Nothing." She turned to pet the old stallion, resting her head against its neck.

She shared her aura with the creature, something she learned on her own years ago. She shared her feelings with it, losing her qualms of the world as she eased into its instincts and away from her inner turmoil.

A clearing of a soft throat caught her attention.

She lifted her head and turned to the boy with a soft smile. "You wanted to ask me something?"

"Y… Yes, my Lady." He glimpsed up and then quickly down. "Why are you wearing underwear?"

Kagome started and looked down. She had forgotten about her attire in her haste to escape. She laughed nervously but did not have time to respond before a very irate voice cut the mood.

"That's very much what I'd like to know as well."

Kagome closed her eyes and groaned. Enter the hanyou.

-+-

InuYasha stood at the top of the staircase for a good ten minutes before he allowed himself to stand in front of the doorway. He sighed. His heart was racing. In all the battles that he ever fought, even almost died in, it would take one girl to frighten him to death.

He hesitantly knocked.

No answer.

'Shit. She's really mad.'InuYasha could smell her anger still strong from Miroku's visit.

"Kagome?"

No response.

He sighed. "I'm… He… We…. Ah shit, Kagome, what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

Still quiet answered him.

"Okay, I know that sending the monk was not my best decision. Shit, ever since I met you I have yet to do one thing right." He leaned his head against the door, time passed, but his mate refused to talk to him. Not that he could blame her.

"Kagome… I'm… sorry. I'm sorry for locking you in, I'm sorry for calling you names, I'm sorry for… well, everything up until this moment. You…." He inhaled sharply and murmured, "You have to realise what you do to me, Kagome. I don't know what to do. I have never felt… I have never wanted, needed…. Grrrrrrraaaaawww! Kagome? Please, let me in!"

No answer.

"Fine! You win! No fucking dresses! You can dress like a mental case all you want! Just let me in and we can talk civil for once in this gods damned relationship!"

Still, nothing.

"Kagome?" His frowned before his eyes widened. 'Oh for fucks sake why didn't I sense it sooner!'

Her smell had slowly dissipated while he spoke, which would only mean….

He growled as he busted the door down and charged into the room. "Kagome!"

She was gone. Moving his sight quickly around the room he noticed that the balcony window was wide open. He stormed out to it and looked down to see torn dresses tied in a make shift rope. It was secured tightly on the balcony railing, and the rope was now floating blissfully in the wind, empty of any ragtag woman.

He howled in frustration and ran out of the room.

"I think he found out she ran off." Shippou said casually.

"Took him long enough." Sango sighed.

"Should make for an interesting bit of news." Miroku grimaced as he placed a raw steak to his other eye.

'Never without since she arrived.'They all thought.

They all grinned as they watched the hanyou tear into the kitchen, out the door and on the trail for his missing charge.

-+-

It didn't take him long to find her. She did well to mask herself and mislead him numerous times, but once he saw the stables, he figured he didn't need to search anymore.

He had arrived to hear the boy acknowledge who she was, and had even heard her sad reply. He cringed at it, but his fury was too much for him to think clearly at the moment. At the mention of underwear, his temper had hit its peak.

"That's very much what I'd like to know as well." He growled menacingly as he stepped into the stable's opening.

The boy jumped at the voice and quickly bowed before InuYasha.

"Leave, Kohaku, and make sure Lady Kagome and I have some peace." The hanyou did not even look up. His eyes were hidden under his heavy bangs.

"Yes, my Lord!" Kohaku ran from the stable without a second glance.

Both Kagome and InuYasha remained quiet for some time.

He could hear her heart racing. His own was now slow and heavy. 'She ran away…. She climbed out the balcony of the top floor of a fucking castle! She could have been hurt. She could have been killed!'

He took a few steps towards her. She took several back.

"Stay." He growled and took a step closer to her.

"No." Kagome growled in return and moved a step back.

Both were caught unawares by a horse's scream and stomping of hooves. InuYasha's eyes flicked to the wild horse a few feet away from Kagome. Its ropes were straining against the force of the animal. Kagome, however, had turned when she felt the horse's fear and anger. She took a step towards it only to be forced back by clawed hands that turned and pressed her against a hard vibrating chest.

InuYasha's growls were loud and fierce against her. Kagome was almost afraid to look up at him. She held her breath and raised her head and stared.

He was growling at the horse! His grip grew tighter as he backed away from the wild animal until he felt she was safe enough away from it. It was then his claws pierced into her shoulders, breaking the skin and causing her to bleed.

She closed her eyes and stifled a whimper.

"You stupid girl!" He shook her slightly and looked down at her face. "Do you hate me that much you try to kill yourself when ever you can to get away from me!"

Kagome gaped and looked up at him. She couldn't escape his hold and winced at the pain in her shoulders and the look on his face.

Seeing her hurt expression, he relaxed his grip and whimpered slightly as if he could feel her pain. He looked away, his face unreadable.

Kagome turned her head away from him as well. She couldn't believe it. She was feeling guilt and remorse! She hated feeling this way, especially around him. 'How does he do this to me? Why do I care?'

Her heart fell when he said she hated him. No, she didn't hate. She couldn't, not after what she felt from him in the bath chamber. But her mind would never allow herself to recognize that feeling that desperately wanted to let go inside of her. There was just too much in the way to just let her heart decide. The ache inside her doubled as she felt the heat and energy coming from him. She _could not_ let it consume her.

"You stupid hanyou! I am perfectly capable of caring for myself. I'm not some weak damsel that needs to be rescued or dressed like a porcelain doll!" She wrenched her body from his grasp and tried to breathe normally but all she could smell was him. So good….

She shook her head. 'No, not good, not good!'

He bared his fangs. "I don't care who you are. No one in their right mind climbs out of castles or tries to pet wild animals!"

Kagome crossed her arms and fought a grin, remembering every time she escaped from Kaede. "I have had a legitimate excuse to climb out every castle hat I have escaped from!"

InuYasha glared at her.

Her grin dropped. "As for wild animals," she scanned her eyes up him, "I have no reason to fear. I can tame any beast."

InuYasha's gaze grew stern. "Keh, you're deluding your 'mighty miko' powers."

"Oh yeah? Watch!" Kagome turned and faced the horse that was watching them with malice.

Before InuYasha could stop her, the stable was filled with quiet serenity. Even he almost fell under its power. He watched as she walked slowly to the animal, unable to move and unable to react.

Kagome had automatically drowned out everything beyond the stable. It didn't matter what was out there and it didn't matter what was in here. All that mattered was what was now in her. Kagome closed her eyes. Her mind flowed to one thought, one emotion.

The Blackness. The complete nothing. The darkness that had never felt what was before, what was to be. For in this blackness, there was nothing, there was never 'a was', there was never a 'will be'.

This darkness was but one thing, one emotion, the one indescribable feeling that all things once knew, and will know again. It was this one thing she channelled. It was this one thing that she feared and prayed for all in one. It was the one thing that connected her to every touch of life around her. She saw it in her dreams, she felt it in her soul, she felt it in everything, and yet she never knew what it was. But she did know it was there. Even if only a small trace of it could be found, she could enter it upon will.

Opening her eyes, InuYasha could see that they were a purple haze, both calm and peaceful.

She settled her gaze on black pools of fury of the horse's eyes. With her aura, she dived into them and mixed herself with the animal's spirit.

She could hear its breathing calm as it grew to know her, as if it always did. Its muscles eased and its heart rate slowed. Eventually it calmed.

Kagome walked towards it and stretched out her hand. The horse breathed in the new scent, but in its mind the scent was familiar. She was a friend. She could be trusted. It had nothing to fear from this woman. It stretched its head to her, allowing it to be touched. It almost begged for the touch. It had been alone and afraid for so long.

Kagome knew it. She felt those emotions coming from it and her heart bled in remorse. She patted the white face and embraced its sweaty neck.

InuYasha's jaw dropped.

Kagome forgot he was there and she was whispering to it. "You know me there. We were friends once. Do you remember?"

"Ka… Kagome?"

Kagome jumped slightly and stared at him as if she didn't recognize him. Her eyes turned back to grey as she looked at him. "InuYasha?"

He didn't speak. All he could do was look at her.

She looked around and blinked as if clearing her vision. She sighed as she centered her mind back to the present and patted the horse softly. She turned to him smugly. "See, told ya."

He looked at her stunned.

Kagome walked over to him haughtily, which irked him to no end, drawing his attention away from his confused thoughts. He growled in annoyance.

"Keh. You petted it, so what? It's a dumb animal. You probably smell like apples or something." He crossed his arms and looked away. 'Well, she does smell a little like apples, and rain, and spice, and excitement, and sex, and…. Sex, fuck, why am I thinking that now? Gods, not now. Fuck, look at her. She's teasing me and taunting me. She shows no fear. Not even to me. And she is mine….'

Kagome was pissed when he mocked her miko powers and felt one up on him when she accomplished her said task. But the feeling was fleeting. She was worried. It happened again. When she lifted her aura from the animal, she could see that white light around everything. It was not as pronounced as it had been the previous times, but it was there. As quickly as she saw it, it faded to the dull shapes of the stable and its occupants.

She wished Kikyo was around. She would have someone to ask then. The only person who may know what all this was about was that perverted monk, and damned if she was about to ask him anything. But still, it had started to frighten her.

While she was thinking, Kagome walked by InuYasha. She was heading towards the stable's entrance distractedly when he caught her arm.

"InuYasha?" She started and turned to glare at him.

"You disobeyed me." He snarled.

"Huh?"

"You left your room not wearing suitable clothing."

"You're bringing this up now?" She huffed and struggled in his grasp but he did not let go.

He clutched her other arm and looked down at her. His expression was unreadable. "I told you what I would do if I found you outside your room without appropriate clothing."

Kagome gasped. "You're not serious!"

He licked his lips, and his upper canines skimmed his bottom lip in an attempt to hold control. 'What the hell am I saying! Fucking demon side was going to cause nothing but trouble. Oh why did she have to smell like that? So excited… so driven?'

Kagome's breath caught and her eyes drifted to watch him lick his lips and bite himself. She had automatically licked her lips as well. Her aura was not completely suppressed from her taming of the horse, and it had slightly melded into his when he touched her.

Her eyes widened at the realization. She had no idea she could do that. She knew she could meld with lesser creatures, dominated by instinct, but never could she filter with creatures of complex consciousness.

But why was it happening now and so easily? Unless she was feeling his instinct. The youkai instinct it felt for its…. 'Oh my gods.'

Kagome swallowed hard. Her body was reacting to him and she could not let go. Once her aura melded, however slightly, she was a part of the creature indefinitely. She was a part of the essence she touched. It was how she kept her bond. It was also how she inadvertently protected herself against chaotic auras.

Damned now that her aura tapped into the essence of InuYasha's youkai, and his lust for her. The only way she could stop it was to suppress her aura but she could not break from his hold on her desires. She could not surface from the heat he has stirring in her.

She whimpered in slight defeat and hot arousal. She closed her eyes and tears leaked in the corners. 'Damn, it hurts! I throb and ache all over…. Gods I need him! I want him so bad!'

'No,' she shook her head, trying to clear it. 'No, it's just him feeling this. Damn, how can he stand it!'

He couldn't. His fangs had already pierced his lip and drew blood. It healed quickly but the taste of his blood as he licked his lips again stirred his demon soul. His senses heightened and he could smell her wetness and need. His eyes flicked over her, drowning in desire at the sight of her. He knew he had to let go, he knew he had to push her away, he knew that if he didn't he would….

And he did. He claimed her lips in a searing kiss, and knocked them forward into a stable wall from the force.

Kagome gasped at the impact of her back on the wall. It only caused his hot tongue to pierce her mouth and lap at her fully. She moaned and her eyes saw sparks behind her lids. She was losing her balance and she gripped her arms around his neck. Instinctively, she tangled her fingers into his white mane, thrusting his mouth harder onto hers. He delved his tongue deeper into her if it was at all possible.

'What the hell am I doing?' Her mind screamed.

'Something you have wanted since you first saw him.'

But that was different! That's when I didn't know who he really was.'

'And how is he any different from then? All that has changed is that he has a name.'

'A name that is my enemy!'

'A name that is now your love.'

'Love? No, I don't love him!'

'Feel it!'

'No, it's not me! I just feel what he feels for me!'

'You cannot feel others' emotions!'

'Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!'

"Ka… Kagome…?" InuYasha gasped into her mouth, asking, begging, and pleading for her. His body throbbed and he couldn't help the light pumping of his hips against hers.

"Don't stop…." She gasped back, wrapping her mouth tighter against his.

With a guttural growl he tore his hands from her arms and wound one into her long hair, the other he gathered around her slim waist and pressed her hard against his growing need as he shoved it harder against her.

She cried out as the hard member pressed and rubbed against her wetness, causing it to ache and pulse. She felt so empty, needing to be filled by him, only him.

Tugging his hair wasn't enough. She needed to touch him. She let him hold her up as she roved her hands along his shoulders, neck, and face, memorizing every curve, every dip and rise, every groan he panted into her mouth when she touched certain places. Her hands trailed up to his glorious ears. The very beings she longed to tug and rub and kiss for so long. Even her mind could not deny that from her heart.

She traced the rims delicately with her fingers, and yelped into his mouth in desire when he uncontrollably bucked his pelvis onto hers from her ministrations.

She grinned slightly and took control. She delved her tongue into his mouth, finally tasting him in all his form. She was drinking him in as if she was thirsty and only he could quench her. Her hands rubbed his ears up and down, stroking and teasing them.

His eyes opened in shock, then rolled closed and let her take him. 'Kagome! My Kagome! Kami! For all the wrongs I have done, for all the wrongs I have seen. You have blessed me with my saving grace!'

He was so hard now it pained him as it pressed hard against her hot sex. He made it more wonderful and worse with each thrust against her that he was unable to control.

"Kagome…" he gasped, "Kagome, please… you have to… stop touching… my ears."

Kagome opened her eyes, her considerate and naïve and gentle eyes. "Am I… hurting you?" She panted into his mouth.

"Gods, no!" He hushed. "Just I can't… if you don't… I won't be able to… have control."

She laughed lustily. "Oh…."

She stopped stroking, only to have her mouth take over the frenzy. She stopped kissing his mouth, only to lick, kiss and suckle his jaw line and neck, then back up. Her eyes roamed up him, and she held a sexily wicked gaze.

He shivered and moaned at the feel and the sight of her. But what set him off the most was….

Kagome kissed his lips then bit his chin gently. The instinctual sign for submission.

His head thrust back and he howled in a dominating declaration to any male who would hear, before bruising her lips in a claiming kiss. He bit, sucked and pulled at her mouth until it was tender and tasted all over. His clawed hand left her hair, and roamed to her collarbone, then to the opening of her kosode, and then in. His hand cupped her swollen breast and he rubbed his calloused fingers over it and its hardened nub.

It was hard to tell which enjoyed that feeling more, since both yelled out in pleasure and pain as their sexes pulled and pulsed in an ageless dance.

The hand that was on her waist now rested on that pert ass he had admired so long ago. Ages ago it seems. His fingers had hiked up the kosode's hem so that he felt hot bare flesh. His hand grabbed and caressed her ass, first once side then the other.

He was addicted and he wanted more. His erection was about to burst in need, until his attention was drawn to a horse's neigh. His eyes opened slightly for him to look around. Automatically he stalled, remembering they were in a very open stable in a very active village.

Damn! Fucking damn! Kami please no! Why did this have to happen here?

He whimpered and broke the kiss. "Kagome, stop!"

Kagome looked at him. Her eyes were deep and liquid in heat. "What? Why? What's wrong?" She panted.

His resolve nearly broke when he looked at them. He shook his head, "Nothing, I just… we… no, we can't." 'Gods don't make me explain! Please give me strength! It's all I can say without breaking and fucking you now. I can't let you feel it's just that! I don't want you to think that's all you are to me.'

Kagome only blinked, her eyes dawning. His refusal was enough to ebb the demon lust and ease off her aura. It was enough for Kagome's mind to slap her out of her 'delusional' love and want for him. Her heart screamed in pain at his refusal of her, but her mind again told her why.

'You knew this! He just lusted, but you repulse him.'

'No, that can't be it!'

'He's letting you go. He's moving away from you. He won't even look at you! He's trying to make you feel for him, want him, need him.'

'No, he's not like that. He loves me. I felt it!'

'He can't love! Not you! What kind of love would lock you away! Insult you… claim you?'

'He… he just….'

'It was just the link! Break it. Run from him and break it!'

'But!'

'RUN! Run before he breaks you!'

Kagome ran but it never stopped her heart from breaking. It never stopped her tears from falling. It never stopped her from hearing him call her name in desperation. She felt him chase her and she was afraid. She tried to run harder, faster, and farther but he would soon catch her. She didn't want to hear excuses. She didn't want to hope. She closed her eyes and forced a barrier behind her towards him and she ran until her heart felt it would burst from her chest.

InuYasha collided into an invisible wall as he neared her, stopping him hard in his tracks. He tore and scratched and swore at it, but it could not be moved by his will.

"Kagome, please!" His very being called out to her. 'Please, don't leave me again!'

She did not reply as she disappeared from his sight.

He fell on his knees, becoming hidden by tall grain. He whimpered in dejection before falling on his front, clawing at the dirt. His heart lurched and bled.

'What happened? What did I do?' He rolled over and his dirt stained face looked numbly up at the blue sky. He closed his eyes and sobbed dry tears of pain and love for something he almost had, and for what he could never have.

-+-

Somewhere deep in the forest, something stirred. 'In the Blackness, I will find you.' It gave chase into the darkness of the Western Lands.


	11. Powers Devine

Kagome ran. She ran until she had nowhere else to run. The shoreline of the ocean was like a barrier and a haven in one as she collapsed on a grassy knoll when her exhausted legs gave out on her. She heaved in massive gulps of air, each breath was like stabbing daggers in her chest and she coughed out each breath achingly.

Kagome lay there prone, unable to move, not ever wanting to move again. Her mind felt filled with cotton and her body throbbed and shuddered in defeat. Her breath was haggard and raspy as she moaned her agony.

She just lay there, her eyes focusing on the endless waves, but nothing did she see except golden eyes and silver hair. She sobbed, or wanted to, but her body gave out. All she could do was wait and relive.

She wanted him. Really wanted him. No, it wasn't like those other times. She could easily blame InuYasha for it all. Even now she wanted to, but she couldn't.

She ran believing the turmoil in her head, but it wasn't true. She was just afraid.

She wanted it too badly. Youkai instinct or not, it was InuYasha's heart she truly felt when her aura touched him. It was that she really desired and it was that she really wanted to trust, and yet, she forced herself not to. Why? Because he is everything she wanted when he was nothing she believed him to be.

And she ran from him. She groaned in regret. Even now, after all the fear, resentment, anger and betrayal she placed on him, she felt a dull ache in her pelvis in her need of him. She shut her eyes in embarrassment.

'What the hell came over me? Damn! What does he think of me! What does it matter? Everything…. Everything.' She rubbed eyes and felt her world fall apart at the seams. How could she face him after all that?

Kagome lay there until the air around her grew cold. She was not quite sure how long she was there. Her breaths were easy and calm but her body was severely stiff. She slowly sat up and winced at the brightness around her. The sun was cast close to the west and its rays were not so blinding, yet her eyes could only see white light.

She blinked and shielded her eyes, but it was not the sun, for even the shade glowed. Was it was her?

She then began to have a good look around her. The ocean was the richest blue, the sand the palest cream, and the grass the most brilliant of techni-greens. It was alive, every bit of it, and she could see it.

She cast her gaze everywhere. She couldn't get enough of it, and more so, she couldn't help but feel it too.

It wasn't like it was extraordinary, it wasn't like it was completely different, in fact it was so slight, she could have easily missed it. But it was there. It was like everything was a bit sharper, and bit more focussed.

It was like a dream, where you swear it was a place you've been before and you knew it in and out, yet you have never once seen it in your waking life. And everything you looked at you knew was more real than what you have ever seen before.

And the feel of it. _Oh the feel of it._ Kagome closed her eyes to absorb it all in.

As you sit alone in a room, sometimes a feeling hits you, and you know that feeling, but for the life of you, you have no idea when or where you first felt it. But when you sense it, when that familiar feeling hits you at that moment, you try to grab it for all its worth and taste it. You beg to relive it! Because just as quickly as you felt it, does it seep away from you, and all you have is that lingering thought of, where, when, how did I first feel that? But all you knew was that when you did, you were at your most content, most adventurous and most alive.

Kagome felt that right now, and she was filled with wonder.

She was aware of all around her and something tingled in her mind's eye.

She turned her head to have her eyes fall upon a small twisted pine. Compared to the rest of her surroundings, this small tree was dull and sick and dying.

She crawled over to it and sat to watch it. It was no more than a foot high, but what was odd about it was that it was the only pine around. Its seed must have been dropped by a sea bird, and now grew alone on the knoll. But aside from its unusual location was its appearance. Yes, it was weak and dying, but there was almost like a smoky haze or fog coating it.

She crinkled her brow in confusion. She reached her hand to touch this dullness, only for some of it to absorb into her skin.

She gasped and pulled back. Looking at it, her hand did not change. She didn't feel pain or sick or anything that was causing the tree to die. It was as if she just wiped it off of the tree, like a coat of dust or cobwebs.

She looked back at the tree. It didn't appear as dull, and its features became more focused in the fog surrounding it.

Kagome bit her lower lip and shakily reached out to the tree once more. Again the haze collected to her fingertips and vanished like a rolling fog. The tree was now as sharp and defined as the rest of the life around it, but it was still listless.

Kagome clenched her hand into a fist, almost afraid to touch the tree again, but she felt a great desire to do so and she couldn't explain why.

Ever so slightly did she reach out and finally grace her fingers on the needles. She gasped in pain and pulled her hand away as if it were burned. Instead it just ached, like a growing pain. Just as quickly as it came did it die away.

'Is it coming from the tree?'

Kagome rested her hands on the ground near the tree in order to kneel over and see it more fully. Again the pain inched up into her fingers, palms and wrists before she lifted them off the ground.

'The soil. The soil around the tree is making it sick.'

She dug her fingers into the soil around the roots, ignoring the throbbing aches in her hands. Under the layer of grass and topsoil did she see it, a faint blackness swirling into the roots of the small tree.

Kagome frowned and delved her hands deeper into the dirt. The blackness swirled around her fingers and dissipated until there was nothing left but brightness. She lifted her hands to gaze at them, her body trembling in shock and understanding.

She knew what she did, she knew what she had to do and why, but for the life of her she did not know how. She swallowed hard and looked at the tree that was now bright and melded into the life force of its surroundings.

She shook her head slightly and a choking sob hitched into her throat. She felt this before. Her eyes widened. She saw this, something like this. She stood up quickly and backed away from the tree.

The bear! She saw the bear's life leave it, she felt it, and she heard it. That was when… that was when she began to see that light!

But why? What was this happening to her? What was going on? It only happened since she was with….

'InuYasha.'

Before she could rationalize her thoughts and the pandemonium going on in her head a sound startled her.

She jumped around to see Sango, dressed in her demon slayer outfit and carrying a large boomerang.

"Kagome." Sango sighed a breath of relief. "We were so worried. When InuYasha came back and said you were gone…. Why did you run away like that?" Seeing the odd look on the girl's face she frowned. "Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome looked at the slayer and regarded her carefully. Sango was surrounded by a pale light and was also bright and sharp like the rest of the life around her. Kagome blinked heavily and nodded, trying to act normal.

"Yeah… yes, I'm… fine." She sighed. "Tired… and… hungry." She smiled weakly.

Sango smiled in relief. "Come on, girl, let's get you home."

Home? Kagome looked to her left to see the edges of the manor. 'InuYasha. What will I say to him? What will I do?'

She cringed at the though of seeing him. She couldn't. There was just… he was… but she felt….

Even her mind could no longer come to any coherent thought. But her heart, it still spoke the same verse that ached to be heard, growing stronger in her mind's cage with each step to the manor. She liked him.

-+-

'I feel you, Midoriko.'

'….'

'You call for me.'

'Stay … away.'

'I am coming for you.'

'I will run again.'

'I will find you.'

"I will fight you!"

"Heh heh heh…. Fight your self?"

'I AM NOT YOU! I AM….'

Kagome sat up in bed. Her face sweat stained and her hair stringy.

Another dream she could not remember, but every time she woke it was if she was running for her life.

The dreams were more frequent and she was now waking every morning to them. All she could recall was a dark voice and unbridled fear.

She shook her head and tried to quell the knot in her stomach. She got out of bed, unable to rest, thankful that it was now morning.

It had been a few weeks since her escape from the manor, since she felt so many things, and since she last saw InuYasha.

Kagome gathered her things and headed down to wash and change in the bath chamber.

It had been three weeks. And he was nowhere to be seen. Sango or Shippou would say she just missed him, or he was here a second ago, or he should be here soon. But she never saw him.

For a while it was a relief. She wasn't ready to face him, but as the weeks passed, she realized that he was avoiding her. It hurt her beyond what she ever felt, and as much as she tried to tell herself she didn't care, the pain never subsided any less.

But he did still think of her.

The morning after her escapade her wardrobe was again filled with colourful kimonos, not the elaborate frills and bows like before, but tasteful, simple and comfortable. She loved them.

The week after her escapade, she found the white stallion tied in the garden, a gift to her from him. She never got to thank him, but she did begin to see him in a new light.

Kagome lazily brushed her hair as she stepped out of the bath chamber, feeling somewhat better now that she was clean and dressed.

Sharp clanging and yells caught her attention and she quickly and quietly jogged to the main hall to see what it was. The commotion seemed to be coming from the main hall that InuYasha had turned into a dojo as well as a meeting place. One of the large doors to the main chamber was open a slight. Kagome peaked her gaze in and gasped.

Inside a shirtless InuYasha was fighting both Sango and Miroku. The Tetsusaiga was fully extended but he did not seem to be using it to its full power.

All three were sweating heavily, hard at work in their training. Kagome was obviously unnoticed as she watched in silence.

"Don't… you think… you've had enough?" Miroku panted heavily.

InuYasha only growled and charged him.

Miroku flipped out of his way to stand beside Sango, who stood ready holding her katana.

"InuYasha, please," she jumped to the side to miss the Tetsusaiga's swing, "we've been at this all morning."

Again the hanyou did not reply but swiped his claws at the both of them with a guttural scream.

Miroku sighed and brought his staff down upon the half demon's head, knocking him unceremoniously to the floor.

Panting heavily, InuYasha stood and growled, rubbing the aching lump on his head. "No… not enough."

"InuYasha, this has gone on long enough…. Talk to her!" Miroku crossed his arms in annoyance.

InuYasha shook his head but unbranded Tetsusaiga.

"Houshi is right, InuYasha, this has to be settled. Waiting for it to just go away won't happen." Sango wiped her brow of the sweat she had worked up.

InuYasha looked at the floor. "I can't."

Miroku and Sango looked at each other and sighed.

Kagome held her breath and waited.

Miroku sat quietly on the floor. "She must know. She must know who you are. She has for her entire life seen you as Sesshomaru has. She has every right to know why you two fought. She has to know the importance of Tetsusaiga. She has to know the truth, or at the very least, the truth as you see it."

InuYasha spat out in fury. "There is no other truth! Sesshomaru is a murderous bastard. He ruthlessly killed countless villages! How can anyone tell Kagome her 'father' sacrificed them all just for a sword he cannot touch! She is too naïve to believe the 'truth'!"

Kagome's head reeled and righteous fury ebbed in her soul. She shook but could not turn away from the argument within.

Miroku sighed. "InuYasha, can we be certain it was him? So much of what we saw seems too…."

"Wrong!" Sango said.

InuYasha swung around to face them both. "It was your village! Your monastery! It was Shippou's parents. All slaughtered! We all saw the flags of the blue crescent! We all saw the demons! Who else could it be? How can you not believe what your very eyes saw!"

Kagome's eyes widened in shock and she held her hand to her mouth to keep from screaming out in retaliation, but she had to know more.

Both the slayer and monk remained quiet before Miroku spoke.

"One cannot take truth by face value alone. Yes, we have witnessed much to point the blame towards Sesshomaru. But you, yourself, had said that each attack did not smell nor seem to be of your brother."

InuYasha growled and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah, there was something not right about it, and nothing about it was Sesshomaru's style. I have fought with him for over fifty years, and know him in battle. But it does not mean the bastard could not have changed his tactics. Humans are nothing to him! He should not feel hesitant to kill all who get in his way to get Tetsusaiga!"

"Do you forget what is in front of you?" Miroku fumed.

"Huh?" Golden eyes crinkled in confusion.

"InuYasha, you know both Miroku and I had fought along side you against Sesshomaru, believing he was as you say, but…." Sango stalled.

"But?" InuYasha looked from one to the other. "What could make you turn so quickly?"

"Kagome." Sango replied. "InuYasha, he adopted a human girl, raised her as his own. From what she has told me, he loves her and she loves him. He has done so much for his people, done so much for his own. He has even taken a human mate, and is expecting a child."

"What?" InuYasha breathed. "You mean, his heir will be… a hanyou?"

Sango only nodded.

"No." The half demon shook his head in disbelief. "No, he can't… he couldn't have…. He hates humans… he…."

"Whatever you believe he feels, can you deny what Kagome is to him?" Miroku asked.

"She is…. No, he gave her to me readily. I was his enemy! He just gave her to me and just turned and left her! What true father would give up a daughter like that, honour bound or not? He treated her like a human he could cast off! He didn't want her…." His ears flattened against his head. "He didn't care about her."

Kagome choked on a sob and shook her head violently. She felt those very words, had thought them herself, but she couldn't stand to hear them out loud. 'Otou… please no….' Tears streamed down her face. She couldn't even allow herself to believe his last words, but there they stood.

Both Sango and Miroku looked at each other dumbfounded.

Whether Kagome was sent away or not, it did not keep from the fact Sesshomaru raised her, and that she trusted him. She was a miko that loved a demonic human killer?

No, there was nothing right about anything they once believed. Answers were needed, answers found in Kagome.

"InuYasha, don't you think Kagome should know? Don't you think it would be fair for you to know what she thinks and knows instead of assuming?" Miroku stood and stared down the hanyou.

InuYasha regarded both of them carefully, and nodded. "She should know, but I can't talk to her."

"Why?" Sango marched over to him and gave him a shove. "What are you so afraid of? The truth?"

"No! I just…." His ears flattened hard on his head.

"What? You just what?" She fumed.

"I can't trust myself around her! Okay? Happy now?" InuYasha yelled.

"What do you mean?" Sango frowned.

"She… I…." InuYasha sighed. "When I am with her, I can't control who I am around her. I just… need her."

Sango raised an eyebrow in disappointment. "InuYasha…."

"No, it's more than just that!" InuYasha shook his head and growled. "I… I don't know."

Miroku placed his hand on Sango's shoulder before she could argue any more. She turned to glare at him before turning her head to look where he was looking.

Kagome stood at the open doorway, tears freely flowing down her face.

"Kagome." InuYasha whispered.


	12. Recognizing the Past

Kagome could only just stand there, listening behind the door. She swayed slightly at all she had heard, every bit of it. Memories and thoughts swirled and melded, but nothing was making sense, nothing was right.

Otou-san holding her.

_Sesshomaru is a murderous bastard._

Otou-san protecting her.

_He ruthlessly killed countless villages! _

Otou-san taking her away from the death and pain.

…_sacrificed them all just for a sword he can't touch! _

Otou-san leading the human refugees of war to his lands.

_It was your village! Your monastery!_

Kikyo…. Kouga….

_Shippou's parents! All slaughtered!_

_InuYasha was very brave to rescue you from that evil monster._

_Evil monster?_

_Sesshomaru._

Otou-san teaching her how to be strong, how to be brave, how to love….

_He hates humans…. _

Rin….

_His heir… will be a hanyou?_

Otou-san adopting her as his own.

_What true father would give up a daughter like that, honour bound or not?_

You made an honourable agreement, if you should break it, Kagome-sama, I will cast you from my house and my memory.

_He treated her like a human he could cast off!_

He will always love you, Kagome, he will always come for you when you need him.

He didn't want her.

She opened the door fully and looked at InuYasha in despair.

_Stand strong. Do not let him break your spirit. He loves you_.

"Kagome?" InuYasha whispered.

He stepped closer to her but she raised her hand to stop him.

"No." Her soft voice broke over the silence of the room.

InuYasha's ears drooped and he cast his gaze to the wall. What had she heard?Whatever it was she heard, none of it would have been good.

Sango and Miroku looked at them both silently before they moved to leave the room.

Kagome looked at them levelly. "Stay."

Both warriors looked at InuYasha but he gave no indication towards them. He was still and unresponsive. They turned to Kagome and waited.

It was a few moments before the silence was broken by Kagome's shockingly calm voice.

"I know… that you believe that Sesshomaru is all you say he is." She graced them all with his trademark stoic glance. "Now tell me… why?"

Sango and Miroku looked at InuYasha expecting him to reply but nothing came from him.

Miroku sighed. "Let us bring this conversation out of this hot room."

He walked to the terrace doors and out to the bright morning. He rested against the stone banister of the veranda and Sango joined him by sitting on the banister beside him. Kagome glanced at InuYasha, who refused to look at her, before she followed them out. InuYasha walked slowly behind her.

Once they were outside, Miroku again spoke. "The best way to introduce any story is to start at the beginning." He looked at InuYasha who was leaning against the manor's stone wall.

The inu hanyou had his eyes closed and arms crossed. It was apparent he was not about to say anything.

Miroku frowned and sighed again before he looked at Kagome. "How much do you know about InuYasha's and Sesshomaru's father?"

Kagome looked confused. "He was a great demon lord, who had control of the entire Western Lands until his death. His… first mate," she glanced at InuYasha, "was Sesshomaru's mother. She was also an inu demon but she had died when Sesshomaru was very young. Otou… Sesshomaru… never really spoke of either, since he felt his father had become…."

InuYasha peered over at her and she felt slightly anxious to carry on.

"Had become what, my Lady?" Miroku asked quietly.

Kagome sighed, remembering what she had heard through Kikyo, Rin and other sources. "Sesshomaru had believed his father had become swayed by mortal ideals and had given up the honour and power of the youkai. His belief was confirmed when the Great Lord had… had taken a human mate."

InuYasha growled slightly and Kagome quietly moved to sit on a bench near by, away from him, before feeling she was able to continue.

She rubbed her brow in sadness. "Sesshomaru felt his father had betrayed him and his kind when he mated with this mortal, and more so when InuYasha was born."

"Go on." Sango glanced at InuYasha, who was still growling, and then back at Kagome. She knew InuYasha needed to hear this, and that all would finally know the truth.

Kagome nodded and crinkled her brow trying to remember it all. "When the Great Lord died, he had given both of them swords made from his own fangs, his own power. To Sesshomaru, he gave the gift of life, to InuYasha, the gift of destruction."

"Is that what he told you Tetsusaiga was!" InuYasha barked, jumping from the wall in anger.

"InuYasha, quiet down. We will have our say once we understand where each is coming from." Miroku replied.

Kagome gave InuYasha a cold stare. "Tetsusaiga has the ability to kill a hundred demons with one swipe. I would call that destructive."

InuYasha just growled deeper as he leaned back against the wall.

"Please, Lady Kagome, continue." Miroku smiled slightly.

Kagome sighed and shook her head, trying to relay all that she understood while growing up. "Sesshomaru had already alienated himself from his father, and to receive a sword that saved mortality was a mockery to him. And for InuYasha, a half human, to have the ability to gain the power meant for true demons was dishonourable. He could not understand what would possess a demon with the ultimate power to give it all away for a human and then to a half human, and worse, try to force Sesshomaru to hold the same love for humanity by giving him a sword that gave them life." Kagome smiled softly. "That was until Rin."

"Rin?" Miroku asked.

InuYasha had stopped growling and seemed pensive, but his ears cocked towards her waiting for her to continue. All this he already knew. Sesshomaru hated him because he was a half human and had caused dishonour to him. Also, Sesshomaru was jealous because he controlled the very power his elder brother had wanted from the start.

He smirked slightly. Serves the bastard right. To be able to wield Tetsusaiga meant that he had the power of their father. How that must piss Sesshomaru off!

"Rin is my adopted mother, Sesshomaru's mate. His human mate." Kagome flicked her eyes up at InuYasha. His ears twitched towards her and his brow arched slightly.

"Rin was a small child when Sesshomaru found her in a battlefield where he and InuYasha once fought." Kagome closed her eyes. "She was orphaned and close to death, or dead, when Sesshomaru saw her. Okaa-san was never entirely clear on telling me how they met. Sesshomaru had for some reason taken pity on her and, using his Tensaiga, revived her. It was that action that would forever change his view on humans."

"Sesshomaru taking pity on something? That's rich." InuYasha scoffed.

Kagome inwardly seethed and she refused to look up at him, trying hard to control her temper. "Whatever happened between them, I don't know. They are private about that situation. But what I do know, what ever had happened between them, she forever changed him."

"Why?" Sango tilted her head. "What happened?"

"By reviving Rin, he had done something he had never done before; care for someone other than himself." She smiled then shrugged. "Sure, he had Jaken, his toad minion, but I don't think he ever cared for him. So by him using the very sword he hated, to revive the very cause he hated, Sesshomaru was given a new perspective of the power he had been given. Mind you it was very slight." Kagome sighed. "Since Rin had no one else, he had allowed her to stay with him, and he grew… fond of her."

Silence from her listeners tempted her to continue.

"Rin was the first human Sesshomaru ever really knew. He began to see how humans lived and felt. I mean, what better way to see the wonder of life than through the eyes of a child?" Kagome smiled softly. "As she grew older, Sesshomaru began to love her. It was because of Rin did Sesshomaru come to understand the power of the swords, especially Tensaiga. It was not a mockery of demonic power or a reminder of his father's weakness, it was a symbol of his strength." Kagome looked distant. "He had told me that because of Rin, he had more power than he ever knew he could have. He realized it was not through defeating others that you gained power."

InuYasha flicked his ears in disbelief. Sesshomaru said that? He looked at her in silent shock.

"He told me he came to understand that when you have love, when you have others that need you, you have something to protect. When you have something as great as that to protect, there is no such thing as giving up. You have a power within you to be all you can ever be in order to keep it. He then understood his father's love for humans, for they had this power, and as weak as they are, they would give their lives to save what they love."

Kagome stood and walked over to lean forward on the banister beside Sango. "It was that understanding that gave him fear as well." She turned to look at InuYasha or more specifically… "Tetsusaiga, he came to believe, could not be trusted in your hands."

"What!" InuYasha leapt from the wall and stormed over to her. Both Miroku and Sango jumped in front of him to block his way.

Kagome watched him through narrowed eyes. "I had grown up hearing stories of what you have done with Tetsusaiga. You and Otou-san had fought for over fifty years and the power of Tetsusaiga has only gotten stronger and more vicious. He no longer wanted to take the sword to use, he wanted to take the sword so it could not be used by you or any who could kill as much as you have!"

"What the fuck are you saying, Bitch!" He bared his fangs and tried to grab her through Miroku and Sango's hold on him.

"I'm saying that what I heard you accuse Sesshomaru of is exactly what I have heard about you!" Kagome's voice trembled in anger, resentment and denial. She shook her head. "So many people have taken refuge on Sesshomaru's lands because you destroyed their villages and homes! So many were killed! Nothing was left alive! Livestock, men, women… children!" Kagome spat out.

InuYasha pulled back stunned before he filled with rage. "I have never hurt a human! When we have fought against Sesshomaru it was always away from people! I would never put anyone in danger! Who ever told you this shit lied!"

Kagome watched him carefully. She felt and saw his light blue aura spike in rage, but what he told was the truth, or what he believed as such. She wanted so badly for him to be telling her the truth, but what about what she grew up believing?

She turned away and whispered sadly that only the dog demon caught it. "So who do I believe?"

InuYasha was floored. She was right. She couldn't very well take his word for it. She had to be told what they knew. If there was any hope, for anything, she had to know so she could finally decide for herself.

"Kagome?" He breathed. He was at a loss. He didn't know what to tell her let alone where to begin.

She did not look up at him, instead she turned her face away to look out at the garden.

Sango and Miroku stood between them uncomfortably and it was Sango that finally spoke.

"Kagome? You say you have heard stories?" Sango licked her dry lips. "Can you tell me who told you? What they had said?"

Kagome looked over at the demon slayer. She could witness pain pass over the girl, but a slight touch of hope for… something.

"The people who came to live in Sesshomaru's lands told us, but I couldn't tell you exactly from whom. Some came to the manor and I heard them tell of what they saw and lived through. All the stories I have heard growing up were the same. The villages would be completely destroyed. No one there was left alive. Those who escaped or were lucky not to be in the village at the time of attack told of death and destruction… and…."

"And?" Sango asked, flicking her eyes over at InuYasha inconspicuously.

"And a red flag with a white demon dog flying on the only standing hut."

InuYasha paled. "No…."

Miroku looked at InuYasha with fierce determination. "This cannot be a coincidence." The monk turned to Kagome. "I think it is time for you to hear us now."

Sango nodded with a dark frown on her face. "I think we all have been misled."

Kagome looked at each of them and slowly nodded. She wasn't sure that she wanted to hear it, but she knew she had to hear the truth from their point of view.

"Both Sango and I have tales of devastation." Miroku once again leaned against the banister by the exterminator. "I, myself, was orphaned at a young age and was raised in a monastery. My father was well renowned for his spiritual powers as well as his more endearing qualities."

"Take your hand elsewhere, Houshi, if you wish to keep it!" Sango held her katana tighter.

Miroku's hand quickly fell to his side. "Something that I have inherited as well."

Kagome smiled slightly.

"One morning I was to be studying in the very monastery my father trained when I happened to be detained…."

Sango scowled.

Miroku coughed. "Well, when I arrived at the monastery it was as you have said. Nothing was left alive. All who I had known and trained with were dead. In a desperate attempt to find relief from my grief I had found sanctuary in a village. It was unfortunate that my stay was not as well met as I had hoped." He pondered.

"You fucking monk!" InuYasha hissed, "You lied, gambled and swindled them out of their money and possessions!"

"Ahhh…." Miroku smiled guiltily. "Whatever the case may have been, it was InuYasha who had found me…."

"You had tried to steal my sword!"

"And had explained the cause of the desecrated villages and holy sanctuaries. It was at that moment I joined with him."

InuYasha growled. "I had no choice but to take you with me, you lecher! They were going to kill you in the morning and Kami only knows how I got tied into it! I'm surprised I got out of there at all, no thanks to you, you damned monk!"

Kagome bit her cheeks to keep from smiling.

The two men began to bicker and argue over the 'finer details' of the story, when Sango cleared her throat, giving Miroku a cold glare. "It was about the time when Miroku finally convinced InuYasha not to kill him and let him tag along when they met me."

Sango's gaze turned sad. "I came from a village of demon slayers. I was coming back from a small hunt with my brother, Kohaku. When we returned we found our village was destroyed. The houses were burned and there were traces of a great demon battle. But all our people were gone."

She turned to face the garden, shuddering at the memory.

"Kohaku? The boy at the village?" Kagome asked.

Sango smiled sadly, looking towards the village. "Yes. I brought him there after…."

Kagome moved to stand beside her to comfort her friend.

Sango chuckled darkly. "I was so angry at what did that to our home, to our family. I wanted revenge, so I tracked the remainder of the army, dragging Kohaku with me." She shook her head. "I don't know what I was thinking. I really don't. I was just so blinded…."

Kagome put her hand on Sango's. The slayer leaned slightly towards her.

"I found the army, or some of them." Sango shook her head. "At first I thought there was a few, so I forced Kohaku to fight with me, but then more and more came, like they were coming out of no where! We got hurt. Kohaku nearly died. I had run away, carrying him with me. They almost caught us, killed us, when InuYasha arrived and used the Tetsusaiga to kill them all."

Kagome slowly looked up at InuYasha who was now quiet and distant.

Sango looked at Kagome. "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I really am."

Kagome looked despondent. "Why?"

Miroku moved to stand on the other side of Kagome. "We had believed InuYasha that Sesshomaru was the cause. Because we saw the evidence in our villages."

"What evidence?" Kagome looked from Sango to Miroku.

"Flags, white flags with a blue crescent." Miroku replied sternly.

"Otou-san's flag?" Kagome gaped. "No, he wouldn't… he couldn't."

"No, Kagome. I don't think he did. Not anymore." Miroku frowned.

InuYasha growled in frustration but did not say anything.

"But at the time, we did believe he was the cause." Sango said. "So we and many others who had seen the flag, had joined InuYasha to…."

"It was a war, Kagome." InuYasha stated matter of factly. "Sesshomaru was our common enemy."

"And what of you, InuYasha?" Kagome said sadly. "I knew of Sesshomaru's motives. I now know why Sango and Miroku thought as they did. But what had you against him?"

InuYasha was taken aback. He turned his face in deep thought. "I don't think you want to hear that."

"No, InuYasha, I don't." Kagome turned to look at him fully for the first time this conversation began. "But I have to know."

InuYasha sighed in contemplation before his face turned hard. Kagome didn't think he was going to say anything until his gruff voice cut hard at her heart. "After our father died, my mother soon followed in grief. Contrary to what you were told, they did love each other."

"I… I know." Kagome looked over at the bath chamber.

"When he died, he not only gave me Tetsusaiga, he also divided the land. The western part of Western Lands was given to Sesshomaru, while the eastern domain was given to me." InuYasha nodded his head to the manor. "Sesshomaru had for the longest time bore a grudge against me and he kicked me out of my home when I as a kid. I had practically raised myself and lived in the forests where you and I first met."

Kagome looked at him in shock then sad realization. Before Sesshomaru had begun to care for others, he was very much a power hungry demon. She was lucky enough never to have known that side of him, but InuYasha? Sesshomaru would hurt his own brother even as a child?

"When I had grew old enough, I began to fight for what was mine. At first it was just me and Sesshomaru, then, as the villages became involved and demons started turning against demons, we started forming armies against each other. That was how I met up with these two." InuYasha nodded to Sango and Miroku. "Eventually, I won back the manor and my territory and that would have been enough for me. I got back what was mine, but…."

Kagome looked up at him expectantly. "But you also believed Sesshomaru was killing these people for no reason."

InuYasha looked back at her and nodded.

"And…." Kagome breathed in deep. "Has that changed? Do you still think he is capable of it?"

InuYasha looked unsettled. "Until what you had just said…. Gods, I was so angry at him, for what he did to me, that I really didn't care to see reason."

"Reason?" Kagome asked.

"The villages… none of them were Sesshomaru's style. He may have hated humans, but he often avoided them. I used to think he thought he'd be tainted if he even saw one." InuYasha scoffed.

Kagome raised an eyebrow.

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Anyways, other than the flags, nothing about these places had evidence against Sesshomaru. First of all, his scent was nowhere to be found. If Sesshomaru was anything, he was a glory hog. He would have led the assault. Whatever the case, his smell would be there, but there was nothing. And every village smelled the same. Even the demons that went after Sango smelled of it. The same army had gone through every village and just killed. Nothing was taken, nothing was left alive."

"But everything was destroyed or moved." Miroku reminded him.

"Yes, as if this army was looking for something, and destroyed everything to find it." Sango agreed looking at Kagome, then to InuYasha.

Kagome looked stunned. Flashes of fire and a woman's terrified face flittered in her mind. She blinked it back as it faded to a distant memory.

"And now you think Sesshomaru was not the cause?"

Sango shook her head. She looked distant as she gazed to the west.

"No, thanks to you." Miroku bowed his head.

"Me?" Kagome whispered and looked down.

"Yes." Miroku looked to Sango then InuYasha before casting his eyes on Kagome. "When we were told about your relation with Sesshomaru, at first it just hindered our beliefs. But as time passed, and we grew to know you," his eyes flicked to Sango, "it was clear that our opinion of Sesshomaru was lacking the entire truth. It is never wise to enter into ignorance willingly when knowledge can just as easily be gained."

"But now that we know what each other know, what of the villages?" Kagome darted her eyes at InuYasha.

He crossed his arms and looked away, growling slightly once again.

Miroku nodded. "The one thing that truly troubles me. Nothing legitimately points to Sesshomaru, or InuYasha from what you say, but there is the question as to why villages in these two territories are being attacked and why are the flags of the two lords being displayed?"

"There are only two possibilities." Kagome bowed her head. "One, we may be lying to each other to make each other believe there is no one at fault except for this 'army,' in order to make a false trust that can be manipulated, but there would be no just reason to lie, especially since none of you are." She blushed when she made aware she was using her aura to sense them, before her eyes narrowed fiercely. "Or there is someone out there trying to keep this war going, framing each brother against the other in order to… to what?"

"Which again brings to question why these villages." Miroku pondered.

"You said it looked like they were looking for something." Kagome crossed her arms. "Do any of these villages have anything in common? In Sesshomaru's territory it was mostly shrines and monasteries that were attacked. But the odd villages that were attacked had no power or resources that any army could want, especially with the sickness going around. Many villages were quarantined by mikos and even they were too weak to cause any trouble towards any army. There would have been no need to kill these people or destroy the village all together."

Miroku nodded. "Yes, here also it seemed that mainly villages that had spiritual purposes or powerful people were attacked. Yet there were a few small villages that also were taken that had no power, save for the odd miko."

"Oh my gods." Kagome's eyes widened. "The mikos."

Miroku looked over at Sango and frowned. "Could it be possible that whatever is doing all of this is after the mikos? But for what purpose? Everyone was killed, the mikos included."

InuYasha scowled and looked quietly at Kagome. "I don't know, but I don't like this. Too many had been wronged by who ever controls this army."

Kagome glanced up at him and nodded. She understood what he really meant. For years she had been led astray by what she heard, by what others believed, but now here she stood, with the truth as they all now knew it.

Now that they were no longer hidden enemies, Kagome could feel the weight lift off her shoulders. There was, however, a new truth that needed to be revealed, but at least now they had each other to find it.

And for the first time Kagome smiled freely at the man she knew as InuYasha.


	13. Its You I see

Autumn had finally set in and there was a settled chill in the air. The scent of metallic wind brought promise of snow soon to come. The leaves had fallen in torrents, and the land grew bare and dull around the manor.

The days were now shorter and filled with trepidation. Since the amity of the warring brothers, things had come to a sudden, and stifling, stand still. Since the joining of the two houses, there was a strained peace as the two sides attempted to collect their broken lives and to continue on as they had once did.

But now with the new revelation made by their Lord, InuYasha's dispersed troops and people had been made aware of the possibility of an even greater threat than Sesshomaru ever was.

Scattered villages and remaining shrines with mikos and priests, or with children with the promise of such power, were warned for their safety. But since it was just a possibility that only those with spiritual control were targeted, all homesteads were up in arms. Mikos and monks rallied to protect their homes and people, and a strained hush fell over the Western Lands as they all waited for word of anything.

Yet since the joining of Kagome and InuYasha, there was suddenly a deadly calm.

No village had been attacked, save for the odd rogue demon, and no word of a massive demonic army was reported. As time passed, even InuYasha began to doubt the validity of this phantom deceiver and its horde. Yet, for the time being, there was no other option he wanted to believe, especially when it came to Kagome and his trust in her.

Especially when it came to Kagome and her safety.

At the vaulted windows of the library, InuYasha stood, his arms crossed and his face set in fierce authority although he was extremely tired. In sad contemplation he cast his gaze down to the exposed garden, and solemnly watched.

Kagome was running breathlessly between trees and shrubs, her hair was down and flowing free in the November wind. Her face was flushed and pink from the cold, and her brown mantle whipped around her in her haste. She looked behind her periodically in fear as she ducked behind a naked peach tree and waited.

A red blur whisked through the garden in a random pattern, searching quickly for its prey. Kagome was obviously masking her aura so not to be discovered, and she remained still, her eyes wide and breath held.

Then the blur whisked directly towards her hiding spot.

InuYasha could hear her piercing scream of dramatic shock that made his ears pull back in annoyance, only for them to quickly flick forward to anxiously hear the laughter that was soon to follow.

-+-

Kagome busted laughing as she lifted herself off the ground where she was knocked down suddenly, holding up a very happy and excited kitsune.

"I did it!" Shippou gasped. "I found you! Did you see? You masked yourself but I found you!"

Kagome gave him a happy hug and giggled. "Yes, you found me. I'm very impressed! You should be very proud, only very strong demons can find me."

An unspoken bond was apparent between them that even the matter of Sesshomaru and the now unsolved death of his parents was not needed to be explained or rationalized. They understood each other in ways that did not need to have justification. The unsaid knowledge was there and they knew it.

Shippou looked at her with happy adoration, his bushy tail flicking with excitement. "Really? Did InuYasha ever find you?"

Kagome smiled and set the kit down. "I think he may have once or twice."

Shippou grinned. "Then I am better than InuYasha?"

"Shippou, you are the best." Kagome laughed. "But…."

"But?" Shippou eyed her eagerly.

Kagome grabbed him quickly and started to tickle him, sending the young demon into a state of uncontrollable giggles. "But don't ever take your prey for granted!"

From the second story window InuYasha chuckled slightly. He quickly stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"A wise sage once said, 'Great oaks from little acorns grow'."

InuYasha turned to look bored at the monk. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

Miroku glanced down to see what the inu hanyou was watching and smiled as Kagome buried the fox demon under piles of leaves. "The garden."

InuYasha turned back to look down, his eyes once again settling on the young miko. "What about it?"

"I do recall stories that all this was forest and field, that is until your father built this manor." Miroku moved to stand beside the demon. "The area where we stand now was barren land and stone crags. But where there is nothing, something great was accomplished. This manor for instance."

InuYasha looked at the monk, lifting his eyebrow in annoyance. What was he getting on with?

"The manor took a long time to build. Often there was difficulty, due to weather and supply, but soon, it became the pinnacle of strength and honour as we now know it." Miroku looked over to regard InuYasha and grinned before continuing. "The garden, however, was another matter."

InuYasha shifted his eyes from the girl below to the vast area that the garden stretched across. It looked okay to him.

"The garden was to be incorporated with the manor after its foundation was built. But it would not grow." Miroku stepped closer to the window. "You must understand that your father not only built this manor here because of the hot spring, but also because there was nothing else here. Nothing grew that needed to be cleared." He flicked his eyes from the youth below to the Lord behind him. "How can one expect a great garden to grow, when there was nothing _for_ it to grow?"

InuYasha shrugged. "But it's here now."

Miroku sighed. "Yes, thanks to your mother."

InuYasha stood stunned. "My mother?"

Miroku nodded. "Apparently, every plant and tree you see was taken and nurtured by your mother. She poured the water to give them nourishment, she tilled the soil so they could find root, and she gave it love so they could find life. Summers passed, and the garden began to grow. Slowly at first, since the soil was still weak and the ground hard. Yet given time and patience and understanding, it grew to become what it is today."

InuYasha scanned the garden from the terrace to the farming fields then to the great forest beyond. It was hard to imagine all this was once dead.

Miroku again placed his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and looked down at Kagome. "So you see, from where there was nothing, given inspiration and care, do we have everything we could possibly want."

With that said, Miroku patted the shoulder and walked to a near by bookshelf. "Hmm. Kama Sutra? Must be a foreign book. Should prove to be enlightening." With that he walked out of the library.

InuYasha listened to him leave and again turned his eyes to everything he could possibly want.

-+-

Kagome sat on the stone bench on the terrace, stroking the kit's tummy beside her. He growled in enjoyment in his sleep. A lazy smile grew on her lips as Kagome was lost in thought.

'Does he like having his tummy rubbed? Would he growl if he liked it?'

Kagome flushed slightly, remembering that he did growl, only never peacefully. Whenever he growled it sent hot shivers through her. She sighed. What was she thinking? Honestly!

She let her eyes wonder over to watch the blowing leaves around her and then let them close as she lifted her face to the rays of sun.

"Hey, Kagome."

She opened her eyes to see Sango walking up the steps towards her. She was in her demon suit and her boomerang was slung over her shoulder.

"Hey, Sango. Back from scouting?" Kagome smiled warmly.

Sango smiled back. "Yes, finally! If I had to spend another night outside I was sure I would break from stiffness! Not to mention break my wrists from slapping Houshi every hour. Honestly, he kept offering to warm me up by rubbing me!" The slayer frowned and stretched, easing the weapon off her body and setting it down.

"Let me guess, he rubbed you the wrong way?" Kagome laughed.

"In every sense of the phrase." Sango grimaced and sat beside her, opposite the slumbering kitsune.

"I'm glad you and Miroku are back." Kagome smiled softly. "When will InuYasha be back?"

Sango tilted her head in confusion. "He came back last night."

Kagome looked over at Sango stunned. "Oh."

The demon slayer could have sworn she saw hurt filter in the girl's eyes but the miko masked it quickly.

"Did you hear of anything?" Kagome switched the subject.

"No," Sango yawned. "Nothing, except for the odd youkai attack now and then. InuYasha couldn't even find a trace of the scent from the demon army."

Kagome only nodded and looked down.

Sango's lifted her head back to relax in the sun's cooling rays only to have her eyes flick to the white haired Lord standing at the library window before he quickly moved away from it.

She smiled before promptly sobering. "Kagome, do you think you will ever forgive InuYasha?"

Kagome spun her head towards her. "Forgive him? What have I to forgive him for?"

Sango eyed her carefully. "For whatever it is you hold against him."

Kagome flushed and turned her head guiltily to her lap.

"Kagome." Sango sighed. "Do you still blame InuYasha for all that has happened? From what you sense from him, from us, from what we had spoken about… do you still feel he is to blame?"

Kagome opened her mouth, unable to speak, unable to look anywhere but at her lap. Instead she shook her head.

"Then what is it? Why do you two do this to each other?"

Breathing deeply, her mind numbed as she muttered. "Do what?"

She didn't want an answer. It just was something to say to prolong the inevitable. Instead, she only made it deeper and harder to get out of.

"Hurt each other by hiding behind your doubts." Sango replied blatantly.

Kagome turned her head to look down at Shippou's sleeping form. "I don't… know what you mean."

"Kagome."

"Hmn?"

"Look at me."

"No."

Sango sighed. "You, who has this wonderful ability to know truth? You, who can know a person's very soul, and still deny what you feel. Kagome, why?"

"There is nothing…."

"Why?"

"Sango." Kagome shook her head softly.

"Why!"

"Because…." Her soft whisper replied.

"…Why?" Sango breathed.

"Because for so long, all I had was a lie. And for so long, all I had was a belief I swore to be true, because it came from the very soul I trusted beyond anything else, even my own." Kagome breathed in deep. "Sesshomaru was more than my father. He saved me from death. But more than that, I believe he saved me from something worse than it. I don't know why, but I feel it. I feel I owe my all to him. I love him beyond all reckoning because of it. How can I turn that away?"

Sango frowned. "Ka… Kagome… do you feel that by being with InuYasha, you are betraying Sesshomaru?"

Kagome knotted her brow and nodded, then shook her head. "Maybe, at one time, before I knew… before we knew. But now…."

"Now?" Sango shifted closer to the girl in reassurance.

"Now… I feel… Sango, I feel so many different things. " Kagome shook her head, not sure what to say or how to say it.

Sango gazed at her face. So sad, so alone, so… serene? She smiled in knowing. 'So she does care, but she is afraid.' To live a lifetime believing you knew everything, only for it to not be at all like you thought. Is it so easy to let go of that belief? Can anyone expect anyone to let it go so easily? Even if it concerned love? Especially if it concerned love?

What can anyone say to make it even possible?

Sango spoke softly, looking out at the sleeping garden. "You know, you could spend your whole life with your mind believing in something and nothing would ever change. But it takes one moment for your heart to believe that can change everything."

Kagome looked up at her in quiet contemplation and a moment passed.

-+-

"Kagome? Where ya goin?" Shippou stood on the stone banister to watch his caretaker lift herself onto the back of the white stallion.

"Just for a run, Shippou. Winter will be here soon and I won't be able to take Taiga out for a run with snow on the ground." Kagome patted the neck of the great horse.

It was a dull grey morning and the frost in the air hinted towards snow that evening or following day.

The horse flicked its ears back and tossed its head, quite eager for that run he could feel coming.

Shippou frowned at the animal. Very few could get near the beast, yet it loved and trusted Kagome unnaturally. Only she would ride it, and even though he had been for a few rides with her, he could feel chaotic vibes from the horse.

Nope, he rather keep his fuzzy little paws on the ground where they belonged. But leave it to Kagome to make all creatures love her, especially wild and uncontrollable ones.

He watched as she lead the animal out of the garden towards the field and then turn east towards the ocean. Shippou shivered and scampered back inside and towards the kitchen to see if anything sweet was made.

Kagome rode for a while, not really caring where, but since the manor was always in sight it didn't really matter. At first she enjoyed letting Taiga run with furious passion before taking control and easing him into a canter along the grassy knoll of the beach.

The ocean rolled loudly on her left and she could feel the icy grip of it in its spray. She shivered and wrapped her mantle tighter around her before riding higher up on the knoll and away from the salty mist.

She inhaled deep the crystallizing air, smelling the stillness and sleep of the land around her. This was her last breath of freedom for a while, at least until the spring thaw. She knew the winter would be long, cold and bitter at times, and could see endless days in the manor. Long and endless more so because of the strained awkwardness between her and InuYasha.

They rarely spoke since their revelation of their pasts, and when they did speak it was always polite and to the point. At times she was sure he wanted to say more, but he would just growl and walk away. She wanted there to be an end to this uncomfortable avoidance, but she wasn't even sure what it is she wanted from him.

She sighed inwardly. No, she knew what she wanted, but after all that had happened, how could anything be beyond what it is? What could she say to explain? What could she do to make it better? Until they could spend more than ten seconds in a room together, there was nothing she could do.

It was some time after she had turned Taiga around and headed back when she realized how familiar the area looked. Glancing around she saw it was the very place she came after….

She blushed slightly. Her eyes had long grown accustomed to the brightness and sharp contrast of the life around her since that day when the auras came to sight. But this spot held a deeper impression of it since this was where the light had come and stayed with her.

She cast her eyes around until she saw it, the small pine.

Hopping off Taiga, she patted him before walking to the pine, never once taking her eyes off of it when she first spotted it.

She slowly knelt down beside it and felt it. It was healthy and growing.

She smiled. "I am happy you are growing, little one."

A faint quiver flitted in her as if in response.

Kagome gasped and blinked at the baby tree. "What?"

Nothing happened.

Biting her lip, she reached out to touch it again. Other than feeling its health, there was nothing beyond the physical.

She shook her head and made to stand up. It must have been her imagination.

She looked at the tree again and blinked. The brightness around it began to waver, as if it was dancing or flowing in the wind that could not touch it.

She crinkled her brow in confusion and watched it, again kneeling beside it. A warm rush was filling in her chest and Kagome heaved out a breath from the pressure building within her. It was like her very essence was trying to push out of her.

The sway of the tree's aura reached towards her and immediately the pressure released from her in a soothing flow to meld with the tree's spirit.

Kagome's eyes widened in shock. 'Kami! How is this happening? I can hear it! The tree is talking to me! That's it. I am going crazy.'

It was not that she could hear it, but it was the closest way to understand and describe it. It was like she could feel it, and her own voice in her heart was talking to her, telling her what the tree was saying.

It wasn't a thank you, as much as it was. It wasn't a greeting, as much as it was. It wasn't a connection, as much as it was. In fact it felt like it was nothing and everything at the same time.

Kagome breathed deep in surprise. It was only a brief moment that this all occurred and, just as quickly, the binding began to fade until there was just her, sitting by the tree. If it weren't for the fact that she felt it, she would not have believed anything happened at all.

She swallowed and breathed out shakily. "You're welcome… I think."

"Talking to trees? I'm sure Sango or Shippou aren't that bad for company." InuYasha's voice erupted behind her. "Hell, even Miroku has more intelligent things to say." He looked at the tree. "Well, that's under debate anyways."

Kagome cracked a smile before she looked up at him and gaped.

He looked amazing. With the grey fog of the day joined by the ocean mist, he looked to be surrounded by an ethereal haze, which was enhanced by his bluish aura that mixed and swirled with the day's light. His white hair shone and glistened from the dampness and his eyes were deep amber. He stood tall and proud with his arms crossed, and his red clothing flapped wickedly around his moulded frame.

Kagome flushed and turned to look out at the water in an attempt to hold down her anxious desire.

"Care to explain why you are all the way out here?" She heard his snide attitude.

Kagome flexed her fingers through the long grass before her, unable to look at him. She felt shy all of a sudden. "I went for a ride."

InuYasha looked over at the grazing horse. "You don't say." He snorted.

Kagome flicked her eyes up at him in mock annoyance before looking back at the crashing waves. "Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "Someone has to keep an eye on you."

Kagome's eyes flashed. "So, what? Are you saying I can't take care of myself?"

InuYasha looked at her coolly. "With the threat of a demon horde killing hundreds with mikos supposedly on their mind? It does spark some worry for your safety."

Kagome opened her mouth to argue then shut it. She looked up at him finally as if realizing something and smiled softly. "Then sit with me."

InuYasha flicked his eyes over her and then the ground beside her. "I… uh… think we should be heading back."

Kagome dropped her eyes and sighed. "Yeah. I guess we should."

They didn't move and a sudden silence washed over them before she finally broke it.

"InuYasha?" Kagome's gaze rested on a distant white crest out on the ocean.

"Hm?" He looked out at the water, inadvertently following the same wave.

"I…."

InuYasha turned to look at her, only to find her looking back at him with a pleading stare, as if she was begging him to hear her though she had yet to speak.

"What?" InuYasha frowned and quietly moved to sit beside her, his look unreadable.

Her eyes turned sad and she softly moved her gaze back to the water. "I'm… sorry."

InuYasha sat stunned. He could not speak for a moment, utter confusion and shock ripped through him. "Why?"

"Because I never trusted." She blushed faintly.

"Trusted?"

"You." Kagome sighed.

InuYasha grimaced. "Kagome, you don't have to apologize. I get it…."

"No," she breathed, "you don't."

InuYasha glowered and picked at a blade of grass in front of him. "Kagome…. Fuck! I know I'm not perfect. Hell, I might not even give a shit most times, but don't patronize me by thinking I don't know that you don't trust me or why!"

Kagome sat silent, her sad grey eyes never wavering from the ocean torrents.

InuYasha quickly looked up at her then back down to his hands and growled. "I took you by force, and expected for you to…." He shook his head and sighed gutturally. "But I would never have touched… not when you…."

"When I…?" She asked softly.

"…When you thought of me as the very monster you hate." His ears ducked behind the folds of his long white hair.

Kagome's silence compelled him to look up at her, only to see her watching him, tears brimming her eyes.

"Ka… Kagome?" He breathed.

She shook her head and bit her bottom lip, a tear escaped and trailed down her face.

InuYasha clenched his fist, trying not to reach out to brush it away. Instead he watched it fall. He had rarely seen Kagome cry. She was always so strong, so brave, and so infuriatingly and insufferably proud! But this tear made her more real than he had ever seen her.

"I'm sorry… because of that. I never trusted my heart, I never trusted me. If I did…." She sighed. "I could have known who you really were, I could have known what you really felt. But I could not bring myself to trust what was right in front of me." Another tear fell.

InuYasha swallowed. Over the ocean spray he could smell the spicy hotness of the tears. His eyes followed each drop down her cheek, to her jaw line, barely gracing her lips, which were parted in aching honesty.

"What do you mean?" He flicked his eyes from her lips to her storm calm eyes. Then realized what she said, that she could have easily known the truth but pushed it aside. His expression hardened in hurt. "Why?"

Kagome blinked miserably and she cast her gaze down. "At first, I felt I was betraying my father. I was supposed to hate you. I felt I dishonoured him by promising to be with you. I felt as long as I hated you for everything I thought you were, what I thought you did, I would not dishonour what he was and who he made me to be."

InuYasha growled slightly and looked away. "I see."

"So I did not care to see the truth. I made myself not see it. I made you into something that you were not. I made you into what I first believed you to be." Kagome sighed. "But then it became… something else."

InuYasha couldn't look at her, instead he inwardly seethed. All this time, he blamed himself, felt he was doing her wrong, but it was her! Her doubts and her hatred and her desire to make him feel worthless! No, it was not just her. He never made it easy for her. He never gave her any reason to trust him. But she finally overcame that, didn't she? All of that was what she wanted to believe, but she knows the truth now, right?

His ears flattened in pain and bitterness over all that had happened. He hissed in hurt fury. "Something else? What else could you possibly hold against me?"

Kagome flinched at his tone. He had every right to be angry. She had done nothing but make him feel like an outcast and worthless. Her stomach twisted in sour regret over all the times she let herself kiss him, only to run from him after. How much it must have broken him to be lead on and then beaten to the ground. Her heart began to race. How could he possibly understand? How could he understand when even she couldn't even get a grasp on it?

"InuYasha." She shook her head, trying desperately to fight the tears that threatened to drown her sight, the regret evident in her whole body.

InuYasha shot his fiery eyes at her. "Other than being a murderous bastard with no honour, other than being a heartless shit that just wanted to fuck you, what else could you possibly hate me for!"

Kagome stared at him in numbed shock. His blue aura turned dark around him and the light she could see was beginning to rapidly dim. She could see his pain, she could feel betrayal and resentment, but it was not at her. He was feeling it about himself. He blamed himself. He believed she thought that of him, and he was responsible for it.

Sadly enough, she did think all those things. She did hold him responsible. Did, but not any longer. She knew that it wasn't him. Once she saw his soul, she knew it was her, it was always her. She felt the world crash down on her for what she caused.

"Nothing." She whispered.

"What?" His expression wavered from fury to confusion.

Her grey eyes looked into his gold, searching for understanding. "There is nothing that I could possibly hate you for. But there is so much that I hate myself for, for what I have done to you."

He opened his mouth to say something, but could not think of anything to say other than, "But…."

"I… got scared." Kagome flushed and looked away.

"Scared?" He blinked. The girl that tamed wild animals, fought without panic, and stood her ground against irate hanyous, was scared?

Kagome exhaled a shaky breath.

InuYasha flicked his eyes over her before allowing himself to ask. "You were scared of me?" He cast he eyes down to rest on his clawed hands, which he quickly fisted into his sleeves. His ears sagged against the side of this head.

Kagome noticed, but more so felt his shame. She held her breath, trying to ease the wild beating of her heart. She slowly moved to sit in front of him and reached for his hidden hands to hold in hers.

He shot his gaze to her face in suspicious surprise as he allowed her to caress his claws.

Slowly Kagome lifted her grey eyes to hold on to his golden ones. "No," she breathed, "I was never afraid of you."

He looked deeply at her, her scent soft and heady, almost making him hesitate to ask. "Then what?"

Kagome bit her lip and she shyly watched her hands hold his. "I was… afraid… to be with you."

Slight tingles from her soft touch made him want to shiver. He flowed his gaze from their hands up to her face. A shy smile was gracing her flushed face but her eyes were cast down.

He frowned, remembering the way she looked at him after they kissed that night they were mated. His ears drooped in a sad realization. "You were afraid… I would take you?"

Kagome's shy smile grew sad. "In the beginning, yes. I was afraid because I did not think you could care for me. I thought you only wanted me because I was Sesshomaru's daughter, and that you 'would make good use of me'."

InuYasha flinched. He had forgotten he had said that.

"But then you changed that."

InuYasha looked at her confused.

Kagome inhaled in nervousness. "When we were together… in the bath chamber…."

InuYasha's cheeks grew hot. "Uh…."

"I felt you… what you felt for me… and it scared me."

InuYasha wasn't sure what to do; deny he felt anything, tell her she was mistaken, or feel ashamed that she hated having a hanyou love her.

"Because… knowing it," Kagome searched his face, "… made me realize that I felt it too."

InuYasha's eyes flashed up to look into hers. His ears flicked forward in hope then back in denial. She couldn't possibly mean what he thinks….

"The day I ran from you. When we were together in the stable… was when I first trusted…. When I first really wanted to be with you."

"Then," he searched her face, trying to find anything that could possibly make this a cruel joke, "why did you run from me?"

Kagome smiled shyly once more. "It's… complicated."

InuYasha could only gaze at her. So eagerly did he want to believe her, so eagerly did he want her to never doubt him again. "Kagome?"

She looked up at him so desperately seeking understanding that his heart lurched.

Her scent, still so wild and alive, was now also humble and open. Mixed with the salt of her dying tears, she smelled of heaven itself.

Her face was flushed and shy and innocent, as if she needed nothing more than to be protected, and he wanted so badly for her to want him, need him in that way, in everyway. He could not hold back.

He lifted her into his lap and held her close, trying to protect her from all doubt, from all pain, from the one thing that could try to take her from him… herself. Closing his eyes to feel her warmth, InuYasha breathed her in and waited to see what she would do.

Kagome was stunned to find herself sitting on his lap, but she eased and nestled closer into him, her head resting against his collarbone. Her heart pounded with the sound of his, so strong and so fierce. His white hair drifted around them and she sighed in pleasure as a wisp brushed her cheek. A rumbling was beginning to vibrate in his chest that caused her to feel comforted and safeguarded.

But still, she knew he had to know what had been happening to her. He had to know about the powers that have been growing in her, and the strange light that she saw.

She lifted her face to him reluctantly. "InuYasha?"

His golden gaze was dark velvet, becoming deep liquid nectar. They brimmed with expectation as they gazed into her own.

Her voice was caught in her throat before she huskily whispered, "Please…." But the rest of what she wanted to say would not come out.

Before she could continue with her sentence, his lips lightly skimmed hers in a caress, making all words fly from her thoughts.

He looked down at her, seeking any sort of hesitation, refusal, or hate. Instead, he saw beauty in everything as she looked up at him in wonder.

He slowly smiled and dipped his head down again and pressed his lips against hers, just touching, not tasting.

It was Kagome that made the kiss real. She lifted her hand to caress his cheek and pulled him closer to deepen the chaste kiss.

He moaned and closed his eyes as if in pain as he held her tighter, pulling her against him. He clung to her lips as if his life depended on it before letting them go and kissed them over and over, harder and harder until her lips were red and swollen. And she returned each kiss with as much fervour.

He lifted his head and panted, looking down at her with heavily hazed eyes. "Kagome, please… tell me… you want…."

She just smiled.

But it was a smile that answered everything he wanted to know as he crushed her against him and again claimed her lips. He flicked his tongue against them, testing her. She opened them slightly and lifted her chin so he could taste her all he wanted. And he did. He delved his tongue inside and teased her own, trying to draw it out, to taste him back. Kagome complied and wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her hands into his thick silky mane.

Her soft pants inside his mouth made his ears strain, begging to hear more. He couldn't taste her enough and he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off his lap in order to straddle him, hitching her grey kimono higher up her legs so she could, never breaking the kiss in the process.

Kagome gasped as he pulled her tighter against him. His mouth crushed onto hers, dipping deeper into her mouth, and drinking her greedily. She gripped his hair harder to keep hold of the searing kiss.

InuYasha was almost afraid she would push him away, and that she would tell him to stop. Instead she held him tighter. Her legs that straddled him clasped hard around his hips, her arms wound more around his neck, her hands convulsing into his hair and clothing, fisting onto whatever she could for balance and control. But was more amazing was that her lips would not yield against the force of his own.

His head spun and hot spikes of passion pierced everything she touched, sending waves of pleasure to his sex, making it grow and pulse in need for more.

Kagome could feel a hotness between her thighs and could not fathom its cause since her own heat was rocking her, both figuratively and literally. She couldn't help but push her wetness against him, trying to dull the sharp ache in her pelvis.

InuYasha gripped her ass, trying to keep her from thrusting against him, as it was already sending him over the edge. He broke the kiss to look into her eyes. His breath was coming out in heaving gulps and he could not ask what he so desperately needed to ask.

Kagome only looked back at him and quickly nodded.

In a guttural groan, he drove her against him and rolled them over so that he lay over her, shielding her from the cold and wind, and protecting him from her uncontrollable thrusts against him. He rested his hips on hers to gently hold them still, and held himself up on his elbows so not to crush her beneath him.

His clawed hands flexed into her hair, splaying his fingers behind her ears to lift her face so he could take the passionate kiss further. He mouth felt torn when it finally left hers, but eased as he suckled her jaw line to her neck.

Kagome inhaled in sharp pleasure. Her eyes closed, though she could see the world growing brighter and more pronounced behind her lids. She didn't want to look, too afraid that what she would see would send her over the edge when all she wanted right now was to be where she was, to never stop feeling all she was feeling in his arms at that moment.

She could feel his emotions flood over her in swells and she wanted nothing more than to be carried away by them. She loved the way they made her body and heart feel. She wanted nothing but this feeling, forever more with him.

His mouth traced her life vein to kiss and suck the sensitive nook of her shoulder and neck. She tasted salty from the ocean mist and also sweet from her own self. InuYasha wanted nothing more than to kiss that one spot until that taste was all he could ever taste for the rest of his life.

Kagome moaned out in dizzy arousal and pulled her hands through his hair, desperately seeking the very things that would make him go wild.

Gripping gently onto his ears, she traced her fingers lazily and seductively over their ridges.

InuYasha bucked hard against her and growled against her neck. "Kagome… no…."

She smiled and continued to stroke, teasing and pulling at his sensitive parts.

His chest was vibrating loud and hard, tingling her breasts and making them full and her nipples hard.

InuYasha gripped his hands beneath her shoulder blades and dug his claws in, unable to control the urge to take her hard and fully, to finally brand her as his own. His hot member jerked painfully at the thought of being embedded in her tight heat.

Kagome hissed at the cold pain in her shoulders and lurched her back up, pushing her breasts harder against him and her sex onto his.

He buried his face in the hollow of her throat, breathing in her scent as if breathing for his very life. "Kagome… are you sure…?"

She caressed her face against a vulnerable ear and hushed him, but a slight prickling in her made her stop her actions. Something was coming.

InuYasha growled huskily and brought himself up to kiss her again, biting at her lower lip. "This time there won't be anything to stop us." He halted in heartbreak as he watched her eyes go suddenly wide in fright. "Kago…?"

Kagome gasped too late as InuYasha was thrown off her.

"HEY SHIT FACE, GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WOMAN!"


	14. Visit from the Past

So much happened in the span of a few minutes.

Kagome's eyes flashed open when she sensed his presence but the blinding light surrounding her made her yell out and clasp her arms around her head in fright and pain, only for that same moment to have InuYasha thrown from her.

"HEY SHIT FACE, GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WOMAN!"

She knew that voice. "Kouga!"

A guttural growl erupted beside her before a pained yelping whimper echoed across the knoll.

She wanted so desperately to open her eyes but everything around her was too intense to absorb. There was also a growing force nearby that was making her whole body throb as if she was burned.

Her breathing was laboured and she floundered on the grass, trying to keep her eyes covered from the white light that burst in radiance behind her closed lids. Her mind struggled to comprehend what was going on around her as she tried to find the source of the pain she could feel thundering in her from somewhere else. She wanted desperately to stand and stop what ever it was that was causing the burn within her. She felt like she was being attacked and she was terrified that they were. She struggled to move though she was blind and her body was pounding in icy fire.

She could hear ferocious snarling and growling to her far left, as well as brutal sounds of beaten flesh. She began to inch her way over, keeping her eyes tightly shut and trying to ignore the pulsing heat around her, as she centred on the pain erupting in their direction.

She never once thought what she was going to do once she got into the fight, only that she had to try and stop the pain that was hurting her hanyou.

-+-

InuYasha was in a state of emotional flux, from untamed arousal, painful confusion to finally white hot rage. Standing above the hanyou was the cocky wolf boy from Sesshomaru's manor. The half demon's eyes narrowed in fury when he heard Kagome call out the wolf shit's name.

In a flash, InuYasha leapt up and barrelled into the wolf demon, knocking the air painfully from him and hurtling him into the sandy beach below.

Recovering quickly, Kouga jumped to the knoll and high kicked InuYasha in the face, causing his neck to snap back and sprawled him along the turf.

Rolling over, InuYasha barely missed a kick aimed for his head. Jumping up, his eyes swirled crimson as he charged, swiping his claws at the wolf that always narrowly avoided them.

Kouga grinned in arrogant ease before punching the hanyou square in the jaw. A hard crack echoed over the terrain as InuYasha's jaw snapped from the pressure.

InuYasha stopped suddenly and stood still in front of the wolf, his hair swayed in the bitter wind. His face grew malicious and a deadly grin inched across it as he popped his jaw back in place. His claws hitched and snapped by his side. No way was this fucking wolf going to show him up in front of his mate!

InuYasha growled. Before this day is out, the fucking wolf will know exactly who Kagome belongs to!

Darting his eyes to Kagome, InuYasha stalled. She looked to be in agony on the ground, clutching her head with one arm, dragging herself towards him with the other. His eyes widened in fear for his mate and turned to Kouga in fierce hatred.

"What," he seethed in venom, "did you DO TO HER!"

Kouga whipped his gaze to Kagome and balked. He leapt towards her in worry.

Seeing Kouga jump towards Kagome, he lunged at the wolf, fangs and claws bared to latch and tear into him.

In lightening speed, Kouga landed beside Kagome, inches away from having been torn by the feral hanyou. He knelt down her and lifted her in his arms.

InuYasha's eyes widened in rage. _My Mate!_ He snarled, his eyes flashing blue and red, and his aura swirled in a mass of energy.

Kagome yelped all of a sudden and tried to thrash out of Kouga's arms. Kouga only held her tighter to him. Concern flooded his blue eyes as he searched her body for damage.

"Let… her… go!" InuYasha panted in a strained attempt to keep from killing the wolf and harming Kagome in the process.

Kouga narrowed his eyes. "It was you, dog fuck, who did this to her!"

The Inu hanyou's breath hitched in his throat, almost believing what the wolf said. It was readily placed out of his mind from watching Kagome struggle in the demon's arms, before harshly whispering. "Put her down so I can kill you."

Kouga took a step back, gripping Kagome tighter. "Heh." He smirked. "What reason do you have to kill me, you weak half breed? I'm only protecting her, something that you have neglected to do."

"I would kill you because you have no honour when it comes to my claim on my territory." He growled in raspy breaths. "I WILL kill you because you have touched what is MINE!" InuYasha jumped forward.

Kouga bounded to the side and spun to face the hanyou as he skidded in the turf.

InuYasha landed where Kouga once stood and swayed slowly back and forth, his hands ready to clench around the wolf's neck. His eyes were burning red fire in anger.

His gaze kept flicking to Kagome's body. She looked to be in pain. Her eyes were closed and her body taut as she cried out in agony. InuYasha wanted nothing more than to slaughter the wolf where he stood.

Kouga only smiled wickedly and bent over Kagome's stiff form and inhaled deep. "Heh heh heh…. You have no claim on her. Are you too weak even to break her?"

Kagome all the while lay stunned. After Kouga lifted her from the ground she felt a massive wave of hard energy hit her.

_InuYasha!_ She could feel his anger and fear and protectiveness. He was in pain, and she could see it through her lids in rolls of blinding heat.

She yelped from the force coming from him and tried to escape Kouga's grasp, but she could not see or feel beyond what was happening to her. Kouga's arms tightened around her and she could hear the fury in InuYasha's voice as the two fought. If only she could open her eyes to see what was going on!

But she couldn't.

There was too much happening inside the hanyou and it was too strong. She had to get to him and calm him down. The pain was wrecking through her and she couldn't make it stop. She didn't know what was happening, why she was feeling his youkai power, just that she had to get to InuYasha and make him stop that pain he was inflicting on the both of them.

Her body felt rigid, absorbing the miasma of emotions coming from the half demon. She struggled in vain trying to push it all away. But she was drowning in it and she couldn't tell up from down.

When Kouga jumped quickly it jarred her, pulling already strained muscles and she lay rigid in his arms. She begged for relief from all the pain and confusion coursing through her.

Then Kouga sniffed her! Like she was a bitch in heat! She could feel his chest rumble slightly in pleasure and she felt ill.

'Kouga! What the hell are you doing?'

But his words numbed her through.

"You have no claim on her. Too weak to even break her!"

Break her! 'No! Get away from me! I will not be…!'

Kagome's body pulsed as a new wave of youkai energy sucked into her, causing her to thrust with each pounding wave of power.

Kouga's eyes widened at the energy emanating from the girl. "Kagome! Don't!"

Given the distraction, InuYasha shot towards the pair and ripped Kagome from the demon's arms and punched the wolf hard in the chest, sending him flying back and crashing to the ground.

InuYasha gently lay Kagome down and crouched his body over hers, shielding her from the wolf demon as Kouga stood up and shook himself off.

Kouga glared at him, baring his long fangs. "Do you honestly think you can protect her?"

InuYasha refused to move above the girl. He had all fours surrounding her and a low growl emitted from his chest.

Kouga growled back. "I have to talk to her."

InuYasha just shot him a "go to hell" look.

Kagome moaned underneath him, causing InuYasha to look down at her in concern.

Kouga lunged at that moment and grappled the hanyou off of Kagome.

Kouga and InuYasha wrestled, with Kouga gaining control and pinning InuYasha to the ground, his face in the dirt.

A clattering sound as something was removed from the wolf's clothing made InuYasha's ears flick in alarm. The inu hanyou thrust himself off the ground, flipping them both over and jumped to stand and face Kouga.

But the wolf was too quick and leapt behind InuYasha as he stood and wrapped a beaded necklace around his neck. But instead of pulling to chock him as InuYasha expected, Kouga let go and spun off to distance himself from the hanyou.

InuYasha scowled and moved to tear the offending thing off his neck, but it held fast.

"What the fuck!" InuYasha barked and struggled to remove the beaded necklace off of him to no avail.

Kouga smirked and looked down at Kagome. Smiling sadly, he made to go to her.

InuYasha's head shot up from tearing at the purple rosary and he dove to cover her once again from the wolf demon's view. Crouching over Kagome's balled position, he grabbed the necklace and tugged with one hand.

"What the fuck is this!" He glared up at the wolf youkai.

Instead of attacking, Kouga just smiled and waited, crossing his arms. "A gift from Lord Sesshomaru."

Kagome's head turned at hearing this. Her body began to ease suddenly when InuYasha again squatted over her as if something was draining his youkai from her. She slowly tested opening her eyes. Waves of colours still swirled around her, but she could clearly see the red covered chest of the hanyou above her. Her eyes widened as she turned her head, blinking rapidly, as she tried to locate Kouga.

Within the liquid white of all around her, prismatic colours flashed in eddies, revealing shapes of true trees, true grass, true sky and true ocean. True, because she was certain that all she had ever known was just copies, casings of what was real. Like seeing the dullness of the seashell on the outside, but the mother of pearl on the inside.

Looking back up at InuYasha's chest she could see the ultimate whiteness pulsing into him. She blinked and watched as the most pure of colours she has yet to witness, throb above her and disappear inside the hanyou with each pumping beat of his heart.

She reached up to touch the light before it faded, and her hand graced the purple beads and white fangs that hung around his neck in the process.

A bolt of power connected the two that sent shock waves through both of them.

InuYasha nearly collapsed on top of her before he was able to lean his body to fall beside her, shuddering.

"InuYasha?" Kagome gasped, her own body trembling in spent strength.

InuYasha rolled over as he painfully sat up beside her. One ear listened to her soft voice yet his attention was on the wolf demon. His body was shaking and his breath was heaving in gulps of air. He was drained of all his strength, but still he would not let the wolf come near her.

Moments passed and she slowly sat up next to him and turned to Kouga. She blinked heavily a few times and forced herself to shakily stand up. The brightness she had seen was gone, ad no longer was everything shrouded in white. What the hell happened? Everything looked as it did before her new powers came to her. Dull and lifeless.

InuYasha stood up quickly beside her, his arm holding her back. She could feel it tremble in weariness but he still stood his ground against his rival.

She looked around, confused, weak and pale. It took awhile before she finally centred her attention on Kouga. Her mind felt like it desperately needed sleep.

InuYasha growled and shot the wolf a deadly glare. His voice was strained with exhaustion. "What the fuck did you do?"

Kouga smirked, darting his eyes to Kagome and back. "I guess you've been collared."

InuYasha growled, pulling at the rosary once more. "You shit! Take it off… now!"

"What's the matter, dog breath?" Kouga walked a large arc around them, watching the hanyou return his look but knew he could not move against him. "Can't take being tied to your bitch? I'm sure I could take her off your hands, if it wasn't for Lord Sesshomaru."

InuYasha stepped towards him, but his legs buckled and he almost fell. Yet it did not hinder his angry growls.

"Kouga," Kagome finally spoke, her voice quivering in fatigue, "what happened? Why would father do this?"

Kouga looked her over sadly. "I only know what I had to do, not why."

Kagome glanced over at the prayer beads around InuYasha's neck. "Then what is it you had to do?"

Kouga nodded his head at the necklace. "Just put that on him and get you to touch it."

Kagome looked down at her hand. It tingled slightly from where she touched the beads. Great power was apparent from it. She could only imagine what it was doing to InuYasha with him wearing the thing.

"Kouga?"

He looked at her despondently. "Humph. Goodbye, kiddo."

Without a backwards glance, the wolf demon sped off towards the Western territory, leaving two very weak and confused individuals to slump unceremoniously on the grassy turf in unconsciousness.

-+-

"Interesting. It is generating massive amounts of power. It would be wise if you took it off."

"I've been trying, you stupid ass! It won't come off!"

Miroku sighed at the hanyou. "Why would Sesshomaru feel it necessary to put this on you?"

"I dunno! Maybe he thought it would be pretty on me. How the fuck should I know!"

Kagome, Sango and Shippou watched the two men bicker, all shaking their heads.

Kagome and InuYasha had arrived back at the manor late in the afternoon, riding on the back of her horse. Both were too exhausted to move and just managed to slide off and fall in a heap on the stone terrace, before being helped into the training room by Sango and Miroku. It took some time for them to gain their strength to describe what had happened with Kouga.

"So you're telling us that this Kouga put this on you?" Sango asked again.

"Yes!" InuYasha barked.

"And he used to be a friend of yours?" Sango turned to Kagome.

"Yeah, we grew up together. He was pretty much my only friend." Kagome frowned. She watched Miroku lift the necklace for the fourth time since they arrived back, triggering another shock of power on the hanyou, electrocuting him to a point of submission.

"I said QUIT IT!" InuYasha smacked the monk's head.

"How am I to figure this out if you won't let me examine it?"

"Examine it, fine, but we already know what happens when you try to take it off. OW! FUCK, I SAID QUIT IT!"

Sango frowned. "He said it was a gift from Sesshomaru? And that he didn't know why, just that he had to put it on InuYasha?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, and that I had to touch it."

"I don't like this." The slayer shook her head and watched the two men.

"OW! QUIT IT!"

"What happens if I…?"

"OW! FUCK! QUIT IT!"

"Maybe if I…?"

"NO! AHHH! QUIT IT!"

"I think this might…."

"GRRRR! YOU'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE NOW!"

"Honestly, InuYasha, how could you say such things? Being a man of the cloth I would never willingly hurt another." Miroku lifted his hands in exasperation, pulling the rosary up at the same time.

"GAH! I SAID QUIT IT!" By this time the poor hanyou was looking like he got struck by lightning. His hair was frizzled and his clothes were beginning to smoke.

Kagome and Sango tried to hide their smiles, but unfortunately it was seen.

"What the hell are you laughing at? You don't have a potential bomb around your necks!" InuYasha grouched.

"Honestly, InuYasha." Sango shook her head. "I seriously doubt Sesshomaru would go as low as this to kill you. You know he'd rather kill you face to face."

Kagome knew she shouldn't have but she did. She giggled.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed. "Do you think this is funny? Your father set me up! And you have the nerve to laugh, you sadistic bitch!"

Kagome's eyes flashed violet and she stormed over to him.

InuYasha gulped slightly but held his ground, even though his ears drooped in passiveness.

"You think knowing my father did this makes me happy? You think me watching you get hurt makes me happy? You think having no clue what this could do to you makes me happy?" Kagome latched onto the necklace to yank it up to shock him, instead it made the necklace glow and sent the both of them flying to opposite sides of the training room.

"Holy cow!" Shippou's mouth dropped. "It didn't do that before!"

Sango ran to help Kagome up, while Miroku stood in the centre of the room, watching intently.

"This does not bode well." He frowned.

Sango lifted a cursing Kagome off the floor. "What do you mean?"

"It is obvious that whoever did this was intent on making sure that no one could remove the necklace." Miroku frowned as InuYasha got up cursing as well. "Is that what happened when you first touched it?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, when I first touched it, it just sucked our energy dry."

"And now it just shot you across the room." Shippou gaped.

"Kagome." Miroku pursed his lips. "Humour me, touch it again."

"What!" Both miko and hanyou yelled.

"I have an idea about it and I want to make sure." Miroku pointed in front of him. "Both of you stand here."

Grudgingly both stood facing each other in front of the monk.

"Now look at each other, touch each other's hands." Miroku said.

Both looked at him suspiciously.

"What the fuck will that do?" InuYasha barked.

"I am curious whether it is just the contact of the necklace or whether you both are unable to touch each other at all." The monk stated matter of factly.

InuYasha darted his eyes over at Kagome with an unrecognizable expression on his face before he smirked. "Keh, this is stupid."

"Just humour me." Miroku sighed tiredly.

Kagome looked up at the hanyou and slowly reached her hand out. InuYasha watched and slowly lifted his hand too. Both hesitated to touch until their fingers grazed each other, then clenched in each other's hands. A sigh of relief almost came from the two.

Kagome blushed slightly as she looked at her hand being held in his. InuYasha, however, was searching her face quickly. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were glowing.

"Now." Miroku stated.

Both jumped back slightly and looked at the monk.

"Kagome, touch the necklace, but keep your hands together."

Kagome breathed in deep and looked up at InuYasha, before bringing her hand to rest on his chest, inching her way up to the necklace. She tried not to focus on her inhibition of what the necklace may or may not do, instead she tried to focus on better things. Like touching InuYasha's chest.

'No! Not a good time to think that, Kagome!' She chastised herself before lifting her fingers over the beads around his neck.

She bit her lower lip and pressed her fingers down onto the rosary. No shock, no strain, just a bittersweet rush of tenderness and shy desire.

Her eyes fluttered closed at the sweet feeling before her fingers lazily fell from the necklace, ending it.

"Well?"

Again, both jumped.

InuYasha blushed and turned his head away to look at a crack on the wall.

Kagome was flushed as well. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Sango breathed.

"We share each other's souls." Kagome looked at the necklace in wonder.


	15. Chained Link

Sango's eyes widened in shock. "Share each other's souls?"

Miroku just shook his head. "Hmm, that may be so, but it does not explain why it would one moment suck your strength and the next forcibly distance you."

Kagome looked at the necklace and frowned. "Yeah, I don't know what to think. But it feels like I know what he feels and then I feel it too."

InuYasha frowned. "It didn't feel like that."

All looked at him quizzically.

He looked at each of them and scowled, crossing his arms. "What?"

"Then what did it feel like?" Miroku asked with a twisted grin of his face.

"What business is it of yours, monk?" InuYasha turned his head away, not really hiding the pink in his cheeks.

Sango sighed. "What Houshi is implying, InuYasha, is that we must know exactly what this thing does to the both of you so we can tell just what it does and maybe what it is for."

Miroku smiled and moved to stand beside Sango. "Thank you, dear Sango. That is exactly what I was pondering. I can see we are of kindred spirits that even our thoughts…."

"Hands where I can see them, Houshi!" Sango barked.

Miroku raised his hands to his chest. "That even our thoughts are one. I can truly say I have never felt so close to someone…."

"Get to the point at hand, Houshi." Sango sighed again.

"So what did you feel, InuYasha?" Miroku stated, not once skipping a beat.

InuYasha growled something incomprehensible.

"What?" Both Sango and Miroku asked.

"I said, it felt like we were sharing our emotions and that they were the same." InuYasha crossed his arms, still blushing slightly.

"Kagome, is that right for you too?" The monk turned to her.

Kagome bit her bottom lip and looked at the far wall, but nodded her head.

"This is truly fascinating." Miroku grinned. "It may then explain what it is that has been happening when you touch the necklace together."

Sango looked from the miko to the demon. "What then?"

"I think, that by touching the necklace, they not only feel what the other feels, the necklace also feeds off their powers from their souls' emotional connection." Miroku rubbed his chin.

"So you're saying, that when it shot them across the room, their angry powers did that?" Shippou asked.

"Something like that. The rosary is a conduit for their shared emotions thus is able to take each power they have when that emotion occurs to charge them simultaneously into one force." Miroku stated.

"In Japanese, Houshi." Sango closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"When InuYasha gets angry, he becomes impulsive and reckless." Miroku said matter of factly.

"HEY!"

"So when he uses that anger, his strength comes into play."

"And Kagome?" Sango looked over at the girl.

"She," Miroku coughed, "becomes very persuasive to make her point clear."

"Um…." Sango looked at Miroku, remembering the state he was in after his first encounter with Kagome. "But how?"

"An invisible force." InuYasha murmured.

Kagome bowed her head in shame. "I use my powers to create a wall of force to push others away."

Miroku's jaw dropped. "But how is that possible?"

Kagome looked at him confused. "It's a miko thing. Any priestess could do that."

Miroku was about to respond before Sango cut him off.

"So the necklace combined the two? InuYasha's strength with Kagome's wall, and it shot the two apart?"

Miroku still looked stunned at Kagome before nodding his head and swallowing. "Yeah… yes, my thoughts exactly."

"And just then? What happened then when they touched it and they just stood there?" Shippou hopping up and down, pulling on the monk's robes.

Kagome and InuYasha flushed and looked anywhere but at each other.

Miroku grinned. "Ah, I think they felt they were friends, very good friends."

"Oh, would explain why nothing happened." Shippou frowned.

Again Kagome and InuYasha glowed redder. No need to tell anyone what their bodies felt from the last touch. It was bad enough that the monk guessed dead on.

"But it does not explain why they were drained of strength when the necklace first was touched." Sango frowned.

"Indeed." Miroku nodded. "I think that it could have been the fight with Kouga that was spending your strengths. Perhaps the necklace was feeding off of that adrenaline, or maybe the emotions you both shared during the time that was making you weak."

"I don't know what you're talking about… spending my strength. Keh!" InuYasha huffed. "I was just getting started on the damn wolf shit. I was no where near tired."

"But what of Kagome?" Sango looked at the miko who seemed pale all of a sudden.

InuYasha looked over at Kagome, remembering how they ended up in that position from the beginning. Flashes of seeing her on the ground, covering her face and trying to crawl over to him made his gut twist suddenly. 'Why was she in pain? Was it something we did?'

Kagome flicked her eyes up at him before turning her gaze away, rubbing one of her arms as if cold.

"There was nothing really wrong with me." She murmured. She didn't want to tell everyone about her powers, not until she spoke to InuYasha about it. She felt it was best to speak privately to him. She didn't feel it wise to let them all know that she had absorbed his youkai aura without explanation. There was also the matter of her powers disappearing after she had touched the rosary. She wondered if they were really gone. If they did share powers through the necklace, could InuYasha be in danger from that light she was seeing? Could she be in danger from it all?

Sango's eyes narrowed. "Kagome?"

Kagome waved her hand and looked down. "There was nothing wrong with me. Nothing other than shock that Kouga was there and attacked InuYasha. I have never seen Kouga do something like that. There was never reason…."

"Keh!" InuYasha sneered. "No reason? Are you telling me you never knew Kouga wanted you for his mate?"

"Kouga!" Kagome grimaced. "Eew no! That's like… kissing your brother or mating with your uncle."

InuYasha paled slightly at that mentioned.

"Why would Kouga feel that?" Kagome shuddered then recalled what the wolf said only a few hours before. Something about taking her off InuYasha's hands if it wasn't for Sesshomaru. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gods… he did feel… oh, think I'm going to be sick."

InuYasha looked slightly relieved by her attitude but growled. "Whatever. That mangy wolf had no chance against me. I was no where near tired, not until he put this thing around me." He hitched the prayer beads angrily.

Miroku shrugged. "Then maybe it was just the side effect of the spell once triggered."

"Whatever the case may be, we know what it does now. But why would Sesshomaru feel it necessary for you to wear it, and link you that way with Kagome? More importantly, what do we do about it now?" Sango asked.

InuYasha just shook his head. "We wait." He looked at Kagome. "And see what comes of it."

Kagome just turned away.

'And see what comes of us… and of me.'

-+-

Kagome stood at the balcony of her room, watching as large flakes of snow drifted slowly down, muffling the outside world. She rested her head upon her folded arms on the stone banister. Her face was solemn and her eyes sad as looked to the west and thought.

'Otou-san. Why did you do this? Is it a way to make InuYasha and I like each other? Is it a way for us to be torn apart? But it seems it only works if we touch it together. Seems kinda stupid really.'

She sighed. 'It makes us feel together and it draws our powers together. But what is it for?'

Kagome closed her eyes. 'We were becoming close. But now, because of the necklace, I am afraid to be near him again. No, I became afraid after we last….'

Kagome blushed and opened her eyes to rest on a melting flake on her arm.

'After we last kissed, I knew I was afraid. It happened again. The world changed. Kami, what is happening to me, Otou? I wish you and Kikyo were here.

It began the night I went away. The day I left you. We kissed and the world changed. It grew bright and then the colour took me. I passed out from it. I remember that now. I woke up and it was back to normal. I thought it may have been a dream or because of the pain of the bear attack. But even then, I could feel it was real because things around me looked more real, though I never really noticed, not until….'

Kagome gazed down to the bath chamber below.

'It was there. He came to me, and I saw him glow, and he was beautiful. He was real while the rest of the world was dead to me. And then I knew what he felt. I ran. I did not want him to feel that. He was not supposed to feel that way. I did not want to feel that way. I could feel the brightness, not just see it. But it was not complete. But it got stronger when we….'

She flicked her eyes to the quiet village beyond.

'There. That is where I felt my feelings for him grow. I tried to make believe that what we shared was just him and I was only feeling it from him. But no, it was me. I felt it too. But I didn't want to. I wasn't ready to let go. I wasn't ready… to let you go. I wanted so badly to feel you, remember you, that I pushed him away even though I knew we felt something. And it happened again. Those weird powers. But this time I knew what I felt; I knew what I was seeing. I could see life. I could feel life. I was connected to it, and the world was real to me, as if I am a part of it, not just in it. But I don't understand why or how, only when we are together does it grow. Only when I feel….'

Kagome looked to the garden below.

'But I can't feel that way now. The day Kouga came, I wanted to. I was ready to. We kissed, and finally I let it all go, and believed. After so long, it was the only thing that felt so right. Then the light I had come so used to seeing grew intense. It was beyond what I have ever known. I couldn't take it in. It was if the very world was trying to pull me apart. No…. Not just that. I felt I was trying to pull it all in me.

And I felt him. But it was not InuYasha. It was his youkai, and it was pulling me too, calling me. I was so scared, not for me, but for him. He was scared and he was getting stronger. The pain from him, his heart… InuYasha was fighting it and was calling me to… I'm not even sure what he wanted me to do. I just knew I had to get to him. I knew I had to make him stop, make him himself again. I don't understand it… make him himself again? Was he not himself? I know I'm not.'

Kagome blinked wearily, never looking away at a large tree in the centre of the garden.

'It only happens when I am with him. When I feel for him. And it had gotten stronger.

And now, with the necklace….'

Kagome shut her eyes in bitter remorse.

'I did it. I made the necklace take our strength away and drain our power. I was absorbing life around me. Otou-san. I'm sorry! I couldn't stop myself! I don't know how I am doing it! I saw the power in him and I touched it. I wanted to be apart of it. I didn't know about the necklace, I didn't see it! And when I touched it, we were drained of our powers.'

A tear fell.

'Now that I know what it does, that he can feel what I feel, that he can draw the power from me to join with his, what is to say it won't happen again? Maybe the next time we are together, I will feel too much, and I will pull in too much. And with the necklace… the next time, what if I hurt him? Or worse?

Why did you give us this? Why did you do this? You had to have known what it was suppose to do. Why would you feel it necessary for us to be joined like this? And why by force? What do you know, Otou? What is it you are trying to do?

I can't do this alone, Otou-san. I need you to answer me.'

Kagome looked to the west again.

'Okaa-san must have had the pup now. Kikyo is tending those who are getting the flu. Ayami is chasing Kouga. Kaede is probably teaching someone to death.'

Kagome smiled through her tears.

'And I miss you. I love you, Otou-san. And I need to know….'

-+-

InuYasha sat on a high limp of the tall tree in the middle of the garden, hidden by snow and branches, but he could still see the girl standing above him on the balcony.

He sighed, his breath flowing white in the stillness. He couldn't bring himself to talk to her. Not after what happened. He idly pulled at the prayer beads.

'What more do I need? So much has kept us apart, and now you do this to me again!

Fuck you, Sesshomaru! You have taken my home, my childhood and my life. And then for one moment I had it all. I got back what was mine! And then I got her. But she was yours. Even when I took her, even when you gave her to me, she was still yours!'

InuYasha growled in frustration.

'How could you? How could you have it all, and when I take what is mine, you still have it. All because of Kagome. Through her you still have my land, my manor, and my heart.

Damn it!

But yesterday…. She was mine. She was finally mine! You fucker! And she would be mine for life. I would be hers. And again you took it away!'

He yanked hard on the necklace.

'That damned wolf! He had the fucking nerve to touch her! To keep her from me! I got mad. And I was without Tetsusaiga. AND HE TOUCHED MY MATE! He deserved to die. I wanted to butcher him on the spot.'

InuYasha's eyes flashed and he gripped hard on the handle of Tetsusaiga strapped beside him.

'I would have bathed in his blood and revelled in my kill. She would know that I was strong, and that she would be with the strongest. She would want nothing more than me, and she would be mine. And because of you, dear brother, sending that shit ass wolf, I could have lost her. I was about to transform! You know just as well as I do what happens when I am without Tetsusaiga. What happens when I become threatened. I would become a true demon, unable to control my base desires. I would have killed that wolf, and I would have loved every moment of that kill. Then I would have taken her. I would have rutted her without care of pain and blood. I would have loved it all the more.'

InuYasha closed his eyes in pain and disgust, his claws clenched into his palms drawing blood.

'I could have killed her. But I could not have him take her! And then this! This thing! All she did was touch it and I could tell she felt my youkai! I could have killed her with that rage and power! I could have drawn her power to make me stronger and nothing could have stopped me! It was fortunate all it did was tap our strength. It brought me back, subdued my rage, but it also made me weak against that damned wolf!

You fucking ass! You deserve eternal hell, and I would be the one to bring you there!

'This thing…' he tugged the rosary, 'will only make me weak. How can I protect her with this? How can we be together with this? If we were together, and I could not control my youkai…. With this thing I could destroy her.'

InuYasha looked up at the balcony to see her beautiful face gaze down to the tree, looking so sad and alone.

'Why did you do this? Why are you taking her from me again? What did I do to deserve this hell? To never even be allowed to be near her… to love….

Fuck you, Sesshomaru….

Fuck it.'

-+-

In the threat of the coming night, a swift figure ran to the Western Territory.

Silenced by the coming night, a lone figure rode towards the Western Territory.

None but one knew they were coming, who waited in the Western Territory.


	16. Chapter 16

Taiga trudged through the wet powdered snow. For hours in the still forest, all Kagome heard was _thruge… thruge… thruge_ as the horse's hooves steadily moved along the forest floor.

The sun had long set, casting them in a ghostly darkness. The moon reflected off the particles of snow, making the land blue and its frosted blanket celestial, as if a mirror to the heavens.

Kagome had long since gotten over the novelty of the beauty surrounding her, concentrating instead on the growing cold. She wrapped her mantle around her more fully, but still shivered slightly since her hands and face had no cover, and the winter wind was beginning to bite. She was tired, hungry and freezing.

Her mind was already teasing her, reminding her of a feathered bed, hot meal and a warm fire at home.

_Home._

Kagome wondered when she considered InuYasha's manor as home. But it did feel that way. Shippou was probably lying by the fire, munching on something sweet. Miroku was most likely reading or 'meditating'. Sango laying down petting Kilala, her pet neko youkai, while swatting Miroku's hand away while he 'meditated'. InuYasha could be anywhere, since he was responsible for so much. Maybe surveying his territory, or checking up on the villages, or possibly he was resting.

Kagome shook her head. In all the time she had known him, she has never seen the hanyou rest. He was always at something, whether training, scouting or complaining.

She smiled slightly. But contrary to what she once thought, he was a good leader. He may be an ass at times, okay, all the time, but his people still respected him.

Through his rough exterior, InuYasha did care for his people, and they knew it. Every snide comment or rude gesture he made, the villagers just smiled and waved off. He was a good provider and a good protector. He made wise decisions and just punishments. He was very much a dedicated leader for his people, even though he said he thought every single one of them was a waste of air.

Kagome smirked.

He was even a good friend, though looking at the way he treated Miroku and Sango, and even poor Shippou, it was hard to believe at times. But they stayed loyally by his side.

She had eventually come to see what they saw, and she came to realize that she too was attached to him. She flushed slightly. _Attached was putting it mildly._

Kagome sighed and cleared her thoughts. Regardless of what she thought or felt, she could not deny that it was dangerous for her to be around him now. With the threat of the necklace and the unexplainable powers she had been possessing since she has been with him, any ties with InuYasha would be made as a rope to hang her.

The quicker she got to Otou-san, the better she would feel, about everything.

A gust of wind caught her mantle and whipped it around her. She shivered violently. Her body began to sag on Taiga's back as exhaustion and cold stabbed at her. She looked up at the passing trees and groaned. _Thruge… thruge… thruge…._

_Got to keep going._

_I wonder if they know I'm gone?_

_Where am I even going?_

_Does he know I'm gone?_

_Damn, everything looks the same, am I even going west anymore?_

_He's probably looking for me right now._

_Fuck, its clouding over, I can't tell. Was that the North Star or a planet?_

_If he's looking for me, that means he'll come after me._

_Moss grows on the north side of tree or the south? Fuck, I can never remember._

_He'll see the tracks in the snow._

_It's so bloody cold and I'm so tired._

_He'll know where I'm going._

_I think I hear rushing water._

_He'll bring me back._

_If it's the river, I'll just follow it up, I think I know the way from there._

Kagome's eyes shot wide open. _Oh shit, if he knows I'm gone, he'll come get me and I will never be able to get to the Western Territory. And worse! He'll never let me out of his sight! _

She nudged the horse on. "I'm sorry, Taiga! We have to go!"

The horse leapt wearily ahead and made it to an open clearing. Ahead Kagome could see the wide meandering river. Snowdrifts collected on each side.

Kagome cringed. "Shit, I forgot we had to cross that."

Looking back and forth, there was no better option. Boulders protruded from the depths in front of her and Kagome guessed this spot as good as any to cross. She tentatively guided the horse forward.

Taiga tossed his head roughly and refused to move.

"Come on, boy, its only a few feet." _Well a couple of dozen feet._

The horse shied from the water's edge.

"Okay, I can take a hint." Kagome hopped off Taiga's back and walked to the river's edge. She dipped her foot down and was happy to find it was only a few feet deep. "See not so bad." She lied, her teeth chattered unmercifully. She walked out into the river, lifting her heavy kimono out of the water's reach, causing the wind to sting her legs where the water did not already. A heavy currant was pushing at her and she had to step slowly in the water to keep her balance. She turned to look at the horse on the bank and stammered. "C… come on."

She took a step back and slipped on the wet stone beneath her feet and toppled into the water. When she resurfaced she found she couldn't reach the bottom and realized the currant had caught her clothing to drag her further into the river. She floundered and gasped for air. The chill of the water shocked her system and it pained her to breathe. And she was sinking fast. Her clothing had become waterlogged. She tried to scream but instead she started to cough in pain, as her chest grew tight from the frigid air and water. _Too cold! I can't get out! I can't get out!_

She started to panic as she felt her body get pulled beneath the water. Her eyes were unfocused on the horse upstream, screaming in fear, before her head was hauled into blackness.

InuYasha was swearing profusely. The path he had taken was knee deep in snow and it made moving unbearably slow in his perspective. He thought he would be making good progress by now; first arrive in the Western Territory by dawn, kick Sesshomaru's ass at around breakfast, get the info he needed and be back to the manor about supper time. Now thanks to the damn snow, he was lucky to be there by midmorning.

Well, the snow and the damned new moon.

After all that has happened in the last few days, he forgotten about the new moon being tonight, the one night out of the month that he was fully human.

He growled profusely and tramped viciously through the snow. He was slow and weak and vulnerable as any human on this night, and he was caught away from the manor. What perfect luck! What else could go wrong? He sighed begrudgingly. At least he made it across the damn river with only his legs getting a soaking.

He buried his hands into his kariginu and ducked his head into the blowing wind. Particles of snow felt like shards of glass as they whipped by, causing yet again another stream of profanities from him. Thankfully he was close to the hideout. He would spend the night there.

InuYasha seethed at his luck and trudged along side the river he crossed earlier downstream. Just as he made it to the water's edge to turn into the glade, he heard a horse's scream. Upstream he could see Taiga pacing on the opposite edge.

_Taiga? Does that mean…?_

InuYasha looked down at the river and could see Kagome's head just disappearing under its surface.

"KAGOME!"

He ran along the edge, tripping up along the banks of snow before diving into the water where she submerged.

He emerged quickly, the cold knocking the air out of him. He looked frantically around for any sign of her. A wisp of her cloak breached the surface ahead of him before being swallowed once again.

"KAGOME!" His heart pumped so wildly that it felt it would tear out of his chest. He dove beneath the surface to swim with the currant, grasping out every which way trying to find her.

It felt like hours being under the water. His lungs stung bitterly and he had to keep himself from resurfacing. The fear that he would miss her ebbed him on to keep reaching out to find her.

Black sparks were flooding his eyes and his body was beginning to go numb. His hands felt stiff and the movement to grip them was agony, then fabric touched his knuckles, like an acidic caress.

With all his will, he clasped hard around it and wrenched himself up to the surface. Gasping in the frigid air, he thought for sure his lungs would burst, but still he clung to the fabric and he hauled it up with what ever power he had. Kagome's head burst out of the water. Her face was azure and her eyes hazy, but she breathed in deep, coughing violently.

InuYasha's heart hiked in his chest. She was alive! He had to get her out! With aching muscles he held her to him and thrashed himself to the shoreline. After dragging both their bodies out he collapsed in a shuddering heap beside her. _No, can't stop. _He pushed his body up.

Kagome was coughing hard and she shook violently. Her head was spinning and she could see dancing darkness in her eyes. She couldn't move. She felt like her body was burning in ice. She could see red move beside her before she was lifted clumsily into shaking arms and carried away from the river.

InuYasha held her loosely against his chest as he stumbled heavily through a copse of trees towards a break in the earth. He hated this place. He hated the smell and the sight of it, but it was all that kept them from death. He collapsed on his knees at the opening and dropped Kagome ungracefully in front of him before he crawled into the hidden cave, dragging her behind him.

The inside was dark, but dry. He quickly sloughed off his kariginu and searched dumbly for the dry wood and tinder left there years before. His head throbbed and body trembled. His hands felt sluggish and numb, so it made lighting the fire almost impossible. But by the mercy of Kami, it lit and a warm glow radiated along the cave's walls.

InuYasha turned slowly to look at Kagome behind him. She lay in a tight ball, shivering and chattering. She was staring indirectly at him, her lips a purple hue.

He crawled over to her, his face dead of emotion. His whole body looked slack and weary. She followed him with her eyes as he raised his fingers to fumble at the tie around her throat, releasing the clasp of her mantle. He quickly shed the obi around her and lifted her from her ice-laced kimono. He pulled her naked form with him to the back of the cave where a huddle of dry and dusty blankets lay.

He rolled her onto them before peeling his own clothing off. Naked and sickly white, he crawled in next to her and wrapped his body around her, heaving some blankets over them.

Kagome lay there stunned. Her jaw had locked from the cold, and all she could do was feel spikes as her nerves triggered her body to heat up. She shook so hard she thought she was convulsing. Feeling the man shake behind and around her, she knew he was feeling the same way.

After a few minutes, the fire burned brighter and hotter, and quickly the cold stone around them warmed.

Kagome could begin feeling her digits, and her flesh was itching and burning inside unbearably, though her skin was still cold. Her shivering eventually dulled down to a silent quiver, but the body beside her was still being wracked by muscles spasms and quakes.

The man coughed suddenly behind her and moaned heatedly.

Kagome turned her head slightly to see his face.

His eyes were closed and his expression was set in a pain filled frown. Wet black hair framed his pale face. His body was very cold. Kagome stiffly moved out of his arms to turn to look at him fully.

He opened his grey eyes and stared into her own. "Kagome?" He rasped, his wording slightly slurred as he reached for her shakily. His lips were pale and his wet hair still had melting icicles crusted into it. Faintly she could see wisps of blackness swirl around him.

She blinked and rolled over to him, using her body weight to push him onto his back before settling down on top of him.

He looked at her blindly. His hands moved thickly, trying to push her off before falling weakly to his side. _She can't see me like this. She doesn't know who I am. How can she do this to a stranger when she couldn't even do it to me? _ He flinched in betrayal.

"Trust me." She whispered, flicking her eyes over his.

She hitched a few moth eaten blankets over them as she gripped her legs around his torso. Turning his face towards the fire, so he could breath the warming air, she wrapped her upper body around his head, her own head rested lightly by the top of his, her heated breasts nestled on his neck. She could feel him shudder violently underneath her, so she held him tighter, making her balled form a cocoon around his life centres.

He breathed in deep, letting out a congested sigh. He must have swallowed too much water. He coughed weakly under her.

His eyes were still open and staring dumbly at the fire. _Kagome is on top of me. Why is she doing this? I'm a man she doesn't know and she's…. How can she do this to me without qualm? _

He moved slightly to push her away again but she hushed him and held tighter.

"Don't." She whispered. "Stay still. Just get warm."

His eyes widened slightly. _She is trying to make me warm? Kagome…?_

His thoughts stopped as she began to hum softly, as if trying to sooth a fussy baby.

He twitched his human ear and she breathed softly on it. His eyes fluttered closed at that simple gesture and he sighed beneath her.

For a long while she lay there on top of him, waiting until the shivering dulled. Still humming, she shifted her body down to rest on top of him fully, her head under his. She stroked his arms with her hands and caressed his legs with her feet.

_How can she be like this, when she doesn't even know it's me?_ InuYasha's heart thumped in sweet misery. After a few more strokes, he fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

InuYasha woke heavily. His sensitive nose could pick out burnt wood and musky earth and something achingly familiar.

Glancing slowly around he saw the cave walls, a hint of daylight in the crevice ahead and a dead fire. He felt groggy, but oddly at peace, something he never felt while living in this cave as a child.

A slight tickle on his chest made his eyes wander towards it, only to see black hair splayed across his chest and arm. At first he thought it was his own and the morning had not yet arrived, but then a soft sigh made his ears twitch in recognition. A flood of memories hit him hard.

Kagome in the river, Kagome in his cave, Kagome in his arms naked, Kagome laying on top of him naked. And now Kagome… naked, resting her head on his chest, her arm wrapped around him, her leg….

Her leg shifted slightly down to rest on his pelvic bone and touching his….

InuYasha's eyes widened in horror. He was hard. And she was waking up. What will she say? What will she do?

He willed it to go down, but her feather light breaths and soft touches weren't making it any easier. He lay still, not sure what to do.

Worst of all, how was he to explain last night?

His eyes narrowed. How will she explain last night? Even now she was naked and at ease on, when she fell asleep, a strange man. Now, when she wakes and finds him, what will she say to explain what she did?

He growled despite of himself, but could not bring himself to move out of her embrace. Namely it was because he didn't want her to wake and have to confront her and also because she was in his arms. It was selfish, he knew it, but when would Kagome ever be this way with him as a hanyou?

Her breathing steadily lightened and he closed his eyes and waited.

Kagome opened her eyes to see darkness. She was oddly rested, and there was something she knew was off.

No, it wasn't the fact she was in a cave. Or the fact she was laying on something firm and warm. Or that she could hear growls coming from somewhere. Then what was it?

Her eyes flickered in ease at the acknowledgment. It was the first night in months where she did not wake from the black filled nightmare. She did not wake to the dark voice or fear. She slept the whole night and woke up… happy.

She sighed and snuggled deeper into the warmth around her, and nuzzled her face into the crook her head lay in. Oddly enough, the growling she heard changed pitch, from a deep one, to a lighter, softer one.

It was familiar and she couldn't quite place it. Then a hand stroked her side softly and the nails scratched her tenderly, sending goose bumps up her flesh.

Her eyes flashed open and she shot up quickly to the furthest wall. Her eyes were wide but she could not see much in the dark cave. She searched frantically and saw a figure in front of her sit up. She could not make out the features, but she was very much aware of the man in front of her.

A husky laugh broke the silence. "Cold?" He asked.

Kagome's eyes widened even more. She yelped in realization and grabbed for anything in her reach. She hastily seized a mouldy blanket and wrapped it around herself.

InuYasha watched her silently. A smirk grazed his face. She couldn't see him in the dark. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

He tucked a blanket around his waist while he shifted to get closer to her. He glimpsed up to her searching eyes, and was glad to see she struggled to make him out.

"It's dark." She whispered in a rush. Her breathing had quickened and her heart rate was beginning to speed up.

"It's a cave." He remarked, lowering his voice so she would not recognize him.

"Why am I here?" She breathed.

He looked her over quickly. _Did she not remember last night?_ _Does that mean she won't remember that she held him so intimately?_

"I brought you here, after I got you out of the river." A low rumble in the dark replied.

Kagome sighed, it sounded in relief. "Oh, the river… I remember now." Her breathing eased and her heart rate returned to normal. "I thought I was dreaming."

InuYasha regarded her fully. His breath hitched in his throat but he managed to ask. "Do you remember last night?"

Kagome nodded her head, though she doubted he could see her. "Yes, you took me out of the river, brought me… here. You took me out of my wet clothes. You warmed me. You… you saved me." She looked desperately at him, wishing she could see his face. "Thank you."

He was taken slightly aback and had to look around blindly, gathering his thoughts, before he continued. "Do you… remember… me? What you did to me?"

Even in the darkness, he could see her blush. She stopped trying to look at him and instead cast her gaze to the wall. _I guess she does._

"Tell me… why did you do that?" He breathed heavily.

Kagome looked uncomfortable. "You were cold. You wrapped your body to warm me. I only did the same."

InuYasha growled slightly, making the girl fidget. "No, you did more than that. You did not just wrap yourself around me, you…."

"I know what I did." Kagome spat out and blushed furiously. "You don't need to spell it out."

He growled again. "Then why?"

"Because… you were dying." Kagome said softly and looked down.

"What?" InuYasha was stunned.

Kagome sighed. "You had hypothermia. You jumped into the river to save me, and not only that, spent the rest of your energy bringing me here, and taking care of me. It was too much of a shock to your system." She looked back towards him. "Your body wasn't warming up, and I could sense them coming."

"Them?" His ears flicked in the darkness.

"The demons of the after world, they were beckoning to you. I had no other choice." Kagome began to crawl blindly towards and then past from him, searching.

"Demons of the after world?" InuYasha looked stunned. _She can see them?_ "What do you mean no other choice? And what are you looking for?"

Kagome stalled for a moment. _He can see in the dark?_ She hastily tightened the blanket around her. "Yes, demons. No other choice but to keep you warm. My clothing." She answered his questions quickly and grabbed onto some fabric. _Not my kimono… must be his._ She tossed it towards him.

He grabbed the clothing she tossed at him. It was dry, thankfully, but smelled heavily of wood smoke. He watched as she found her clothing and rummaged through them.

"I'm sure you could have found a better way to keep me warm." He snarled uncontrollably. He was twisted in his emotions. Thankful that she saved him from death, but angered she did it so… so… and to a complete stranger too.

Kagome turned her head angrily towards him. "I had to warm your head and chest. When someone is suffering from hypothermia as bad as you were last night, you have to warm the breathing pathways and the heart. I had to wrap my… body around those parts to keep you breathing comfortably and to regulate your heart." She turned back to her clothing. "Now turn around, jackass, so I can get dressed."

InuYasha's mind reeled. _So she only did that… like that… because she was taking care of me?_ He smiled despite of himself. Especially now that she was so modest around him. He smirked. "You weren't so modest last night."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Listen, baka, our clothing was wet, the blankets were shit, it was the only way I could warm you. Don't get so hung up about it." She wrapped her kimono around her and tied it with her obi. Her mantle was still damp around the edges but dry where it mattered.

InuYasha quickly dressed behind her, glimpsing at her in the corner of his eye. "Keh. Not that I'm not thankful or anything, but it was just a shock you would do _that_ to a complete stranger."

Kagome spun around to face him. "Stranger? InuYasha, what are you getting on with?"

InuYasha looked at her as if he was slapped. "You… you knew that was me? How? But… how!"

Kagome looked at him confused then a dawning realization struck her face. "That's why you were asking me all those questions all annoyed? You thought I was coming onto a man I didn't know?" Kagome started to laugh, "InuYasha…."

InuYasha's ears flicked towards her in a shy, but happy revelation, before being pinned back by her furious outburst.

"HOW CAN YOU THINK I WOULD DO THAT!"

InuYasha flinched back in rebuke, pressing his back hard against the wall behind him trying to escape her wrath, "I'm sorry! I just…." But she kept going.

"IS THAT WHAT KIND OF WOMAN YOU THINK I AM!"

InuYasha cringed slightly, "No, but…."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR!"

InuYasha flicked his golden eyes to her stormy grey and he knew his mate needed to be subdued.

"IF I'D KNOWN YOU'D BE SUCH A DICK ABOUT IT I WOULD HAVE NEVER mmmmm…."

Kagome's eyes flashed wide before drifting closed and melted against the very lips that silenced her. Her kneeling form leaned heavily against his own.

InuYasha's hands gripped her arms hard when he first kissed her, only to let them relax and caress their way up to her face and held her hair tight between his fingers, tilting her head so he could deepen the kiss.

As he opened his mouth to dip his tongue into hers, Kagome's tongue quickly delved into his. He snapped his head back stunned at her force before leaning hard against her, not that he had a choice in the matter.

She dug her hands into his shirt and pulled him harder onto her. She moaned as she tasted his tongue, moving wildly and passionately in his mouth. She was too bold when she slipped her tongue in and unknowingly pierced her lower lip on one of his upper canines.

A slight tang of salty metal tingled his taste buds, causing his eyes to roll back and his demon lust to trigger his pelvis into a heavy ache. He groaned and growled hard as his tongue attacked hers with a vengeance. He pressed Kagome flush against him, both kneeling on the ground and swaying for control of the kiss.

InuYasha felt like he was drowning, his head swam and a swirl of colours flicked across his eyes. So bright and pure and alive. He never saw anything like it, nor has he ever felt anything like it. It was like he could see life, and it was Kagome. He was going under and he never wanted to resurface. He wanted to sink to the bottom of her very soul and never break free. He gripped her head hard, pulling her lips harder onto his, and then moved his hands to grip into her back.

Kagome's heart was racing, her breath hard and fast, but she still would not let go of the kiss, fisting her hands into his hair, her moans were quick, for she was begging… begging him to keep kissing her. She was feeling wilder, her instincts were pushing her hard, she just wanted him, not water, not air, not life, him, only him. She wanted him closer, he couldn't get close enough, like she needed him to be in her, for his soul to connect with hers and never let go.

She couldn't feel anything except the flood of emotion. Waves of pleasurable pain erupting through her. Her lips were cut from his fangs, and she did not feel their tenderness, even as they healed from the ministrations of his mouth. She didn't even taste her blood. It was just the flood, and she was going under, and she wasn't going down fast enough.

Tears stung her eyes and she began to cry because there was no relief from it, she was just overwhelmed and she couldn't get enough.

InuYasha was dizzy, but he could taste something new. Her blood, her natural sweetness and… her tears? He sighed and shivered in ecstasy. He was tasting her, all of her life, all her emotion, all of Kagome. He knew this woman was now his life, and no one was going to take her from him. He would die for her.

But… she was crying. Why was his Kagome crying?

It took all he had to break the kiss. Last night was nothing compared to the agony of letting her lips go.

"Ka… gome." He heaved in massive gulps of air, grabbing her head to stare blindly at her. She was covered in every imaginable colour and the purest light, and he felt drunk and blissful. _Heaven_… that's all he could think of it. And the god of his heaven was crying. The tears looked like rivers of diamond. Watching it was like seeing purity mourn for all his transgressions and still love him. His heart felt like it would soar to the highest heavens and sink to the lowest hells. It was so overwhelming he could only watch her in reverence.

Kagome swallowed hard and slowly shook her head. The cave seemed lighter somehow, because she could now see him clearly. Her eyes fell from his awestruck gaze to her fingertips, throbbing from a twinned pulse. They were resting on the necklace.

Kagome heaved in a breaking sigh and she dropped her hands.

InuYasha blinked heavily and shook his head. The world around him turned back to bland and cold and dead… back to normal. He shut his eyes as the emotions faded and it was just him, sitting in front of Kagome. He felt raped, like he was taken away from the most precious gift he has ever been touched with. And now, it was just him. He opened his eyes…. No, it was him and Kagome.

Kagome sat heavily in front of him, the tears were not diamonds but dirt-tracked streaks. But she was still beautiful.

"Kagome?" He breathed softly. So many questions flooded his head.

"The rosary." She answered. She looked up at him and heaved out a raspy sob. "We… touched the necklace…."

InuYasha looked at the rosary and back at her. "Holy fuck."

Kagome nodded.

"We have to…." He choked.

"See Sesshomaru…." Kagome nodded softly.

InuYasha crawled past her and outside the small cave. Kagome followed.

The sky was overcast, and the day cold.

InuYasha blinked at the brightness as did Kagome. After all the time in the small cave, the white snow was hard on their eyes.

InuYasha looked around and then back at Kagome, scanning her quickly before walking ahead. "Let's go."

They walked silently for a long while, their minds trying to grasp just what had happened, but there was still something nagging InuYasha aside from that.

"How did you know?" He said after some time, walking ahead of her.

Kagome looked at his back. "Know?"

"That it was me last night." He stopped and turned to her. He frowned.

Kagome smiled. "A few things really. One, I felt your aura. Your aura doesn't change no matter what form you take. I thought it odd at first, but then I remembered. You were a hanyou, of course you have a human time. The other, the necklace. I'm sure they're not a dime a dozen."

InuYasha smiled slightly. "Oh… right." He turned to walk again.

"And…."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "And?"

Kagome smiled softly and looked at him in an unrecognizable expression, InuYasha could only guess a peaceful tranquility.

"You said my name…."

InuYasha turned to look at her fully. He smirked. "Keh. Come on, Kagome."

She grinned and followed.


	18. Chapter 18

They trudged in silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts. InuYasha glanced periodically back at the girl and saw she held up pretty good and without complaint. For some reason, he appreciated her stamina, and her silence.

His own thoughts were in too much of a jumble for him to even rationalize a conversation.

She knew it was me. And yet she cared for me. She walks with me without fear, and finally without hate. But does she care for me? She said she knew the truth of how I felt, and that she felt the same. Does she really know how I feel for her? We never spoke of it.

InuYasha shook his head.

Is it something that needs to be said? I was never good at this shit. But after all that has happened, shouldn't something be said? We fought more than we talked. Even after what we have done, we are still where we began. Strangers.

InuYasha sighed softly.

Strangers. No, we were never strangers, were we. For some reason, I feel I have always known her, but always at arms reach. We were objects of circumstance, torn by trust and truth.

He glanced back at her and watched as she stepped into his footsteps in the snow. He smiled slightly in spite of himself and looked ahead.

So where are we now? What do I do now? I feel I don't know anything about her, but still I want nothing but her. How can she consume me so much? And all I know is what she is. Kagome, adopted daughter of my brother, a miko… my mate. But that's it. Why was she adopted? What other powers does she have? The other day, Miroku had told me to be wary of her. He said her powers were strong and undisciplined. But there was more. The monk was afraid. He said she was unnatural in her powers. He couldn't explain it. Now, I believe him. Now I understand. She has the power to hold me at bay, she can see the demon death messengers, she can tame wild animals with a touch, and she can make me feel retribution for all that I have done when I feel I should have none. But there is more, and the monk can feel it, and now I can too. What is she hiding? What else is she capable of? Does she even know?

He glimpsed at her in the corner of his eye. She was trailing her hand along a branch and her face held a quiet calm.

I can do nothing but wait. And it infuriates me! As much as I want to know, I'm fucked, because I'm not sure what there is to know! The only hint I have is from this damned necklace! I can feel portions of her power. I can taste what she is capable of. The wall of force, the instincts she binds herself to… and that light. When we kissed, when she touched the necklace, I saw such blinding light! Such raw emotion. Does she see that? Feel that? It is not just the connection with the necklace. I don't possess that kind of power. Does she know what it is? What else is she hiding? Kagome, what are you really?

He clenched his fist and growled softly.

What am I to you? You, who so doubted my truth. You, who has not been truthful to me. What else do you keep from me?

Kagome walked quietly behind him. She could see in the stiff manner that he walked that he did not want to be spoken to. She felt wary, but appreciated the silence.

She knew he was thinking, and it worried her slightly of where his thoughts were heading. She could feel confusion and slight anger coming from him. She watched him silently as she followed along in his footsteps, only to have her own thoughts take over.

Is he mad at me? Have I done something to make him feel guarded? Was it last night? Was it today?

She searched her memory for any action that could warrant his mood. But something else was pushing her mind to her own troubled thoughts.

We had kissed again, but this time it was different. This time I was not blinded by the light and emotion of my surroundings. I kissed him and I was normal.

She almost sighed a breath of relief.

Normal. Is it possible that what ever was happening is now over? Maybe I don't have anything to fear after all. Maybe I could finally be able to be with him and not be afraid.

She frowned.

But still. Why did it go? Why did I not see it this time? What was it?

As much as it was a weight taken from her shoulders, the fact that after all this time it was now gone, it worried her.

Is it gone? The light, the feelings… the connections?

Hesitantly she reached out to touch a nearby branch, stroking it, coaxing whatever dormant power to show face. A slight twinge filtered into her fingers and the trees around her sprung to live and she could see them sharper and clearer than ever before. She was washed over with a silent calm of the sleeping trees.

Letting go, Kagome gasped slightly.

It's still here. I still feel it, but I can control it. I'm not overwhelmed or taken over by it. How is this possible? What had happened? Could it be possible the rosary…? But how? And why? I know it has something to do with it. The first time when I touched the necklace, it made the world right again, and now, when we kissed, nothing happened like it did before. No, something did, I felt….

Kagome flushed.

Savage, like I was an animal hungry for its mate. This must be what InuYasha feels. I know it is. It's like when I felt his aura in the stable. I felt like I was a demon wanting….

Kagome paled.

Oh shit no! If I felt what he… could he have seen…?

Kagome stopped and stared at his back as he kept walking.

His eyes, I remember his eyes when we…. They looked as if he was in shock! Then when I let go of the rosary, he blinked and…. Oh Gods! Please no! How can I possibly explain! I can't! Not until we get to Otou-san's! Not until I know what has been happening! Maybe it was nothing… maybe….

InuYasha turned when he had heard her stop. He looked at her confused and annoyed. She seemed scared. His heart jumped slightly and he walked over to her.

"Kagome?" He frowned.

Kagome's head shot up to look at him. She seemed to pale just by watching him.

InuYasha looked around quickly to make sure all was safe before looking at her again. She had cast her eyes down quickly from his gaze.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked.

Kagome looked up at him quickly and opened her mouth to say something but then sighed. "Nothing." Maybe he didn't see anything.

He gave her a hard look. "Its not nothing, you look like something's wrong."

Kagome looked behind her then back at him. Make up something quick! "Oh, it's really nothing, just Taiga…." Her eyes shot wide open. "Oh shit! What happened to Taiga? I left him at the river!" She turned and tried to run back where they came.

InuYasha jumped and landed in front on her.

"It's pointless to head back now!" He growled. "Besides, that horse took off long before we awoke. From the smell this morning it may have headed back to the manor."

"But…." Kagome's eyes looked behind him.

"Kagome, that horse was wild until you came along. I'm sure it could handle itself just fine." InuYasha crossed his arms and looked past her. Damn, we're never going to make it if we keep stalling like this. "Come on, we have a long way ahead." He walked past her to follow the trail they were walking along.

Kagome nodded. She turned to follow. "Ah fuck!" She groaned in realization.

InuYasha turned and gave her an exasperated growl. "What now?"

Kagome crossed her arms and trudged past him. "I left my bow and quiver on him, as well as some rations. We have nothing to eat on the way there. And I have no way of protecting us."

InuYasha walked beside her and flexed his claws. "I see no problem with any of that."

"Well, that's just great, mighty hunter. And how will we cook it? All the wood is wet." Kagome fumed. "And I rather have my own protection in case you go running off again." She mumbled beneath her breath.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" InuYasha jumped in front of her and cracked his claws menacingly.

Kagome looked up at him, her eyes flashed dark grey. "A certain bear comes to mind."

InuYasha paled then his eyes turned a brilliant amber. "You blame me for that?"

Kagome looked at him angrily. "No, you idiot! Just that if I get caught alone again, this time I have nothing to fend anything off!"

InuYasha growled. "Well, even when you did have your weapons, you were totally useless! That bear still attacked!"

Kagome's mouth dropped. "That's only because I couldn't sense the damn thing!"

"Keh. You can hear can't you?" InuYasha spat out.

"Yes, I heard it!" Kagome's eyes filled with angry tears remembering. "But there was nothing malicious coming from it! From what I could tell, its aura was suppressed! I thought it was you! But now looking back on it, I should have shot at it knowing it was you or not!" Kagome stormed past him.

InuYasha stood stunned before turning to her retreating form. "Hey!"

"What!" Kagome yelled back, still stalking away from him.

"Why… why are you crying?" He followed behind her.

"I'm not crying!" Kagome wiped her eyes furiously, refusing to look at him.

"Yes, you are!" He ran up beside her.

She looked at him furiously, her eyes red and watery. "No, I'm not!"

"Was it because I said you're useless?" He asked contritely.

Kagome opened her mouth in shock. "What? No! And I'm not crying so quit tormenting me!"

InuYasha looked at her, his ears flicking back and forth in uncertainty. "Are… are you crying about the bear?"

Kagome growled. "What is with you! Can't you just drop it!"

InuYasha searched her face. "Why are you crying over an animal that almost killed you!"

Kagome stopped and turned angry eyes at him. "Because it didn't want to."

"What!" InuYasha stood beside her in confusion.

Kagome looked everywhere but at him. She sighed. "It's nothing. Drop it."

InuYasha's eyes narrowed. "It didn't want to? What's that mean?"

"Nothing!" Kagome brushed past him.

He grabbed her arm. "Bullshit! I know you can sense them when you want to. I saw what you did with that horse! You did sense something from the bear. That's why you didn't shoot it, right? Are you just feeling inadequate that maybe your sense was wrong?"

Kagome tried to yank her arm from his grasp but he held on tight. "No, now let me go."

InuYasha pulled her closer to him and hissed. "Stop hiding this from me! I know you have powers you keep from me, and I want you to tell me now!"

Kagome looked up at him astonished. What does he know?

"Answer me!" He shook her arm quickly.

"I… I don't know." Kagome looked up at him imploringly.

InuYasha looked drained all of a sudden. "Please, Kagome. You're not alone in this anymore."

Kagome searched his eyes. He was right. As much as she could deny it, he was a part of her life, and suddenly, she wanted him to be. He should know what she could do, well, for the moment what she knew she could do.

She looked at the rosary. And she wasn't alone in this anymore. Now with the rosary, he had everything to do with her powers as she did his. She shook her head.

"I can't tell you all of it, because I don't know all of it." Kagome whispered.

InuYasha sighed and looked around. "Come on." He let go of her arm and walked up the trail to a large glen. An old well was dug in the middle of it. He sat on the lip of it.

Kagome followed and sat beside him.

InuYasha looked ahead. "Tell me what you do know."

Kagome sighed and wrapped her mantle around her tighter. She shrugged. "At first, I had the powers of an ordinary miko. The ability to heal with medicines, see the death messengers, purify evil miasma, and read auras."

InuYasha's eyes widened slightly. Whoa. "Go on."

"When I lived with Sesshomaru, I was trained in these powers by Kikyo, a very powerful miko. She even taught me how to use my aura to subdue others' auras. That's how I am able to hold the wall. I have the ability to push my spiritual strength against another. Being a miko, of course my spiritual strength would be stronger than others." Kagome smiled slightly.

InuYasha growled faintly. "And all mikos can do this?"

Kagome nodded. "I guess so. Kikyo trained me, so I assumed as much, though I have never seen her do much of it. But then again, she's very disciplined and never used her powers unless needed. She was always lecturing me about how I should never be so bold in using my own."

InuYasha nodded. "And reading auras? What does that do?"

Kagome looked thoughtful. "Well, it's supposed to tell you about a person. You see, one's life force is like looking at one's heart. Well, no, I guess that's what it's exactly like and more. A person's aura can tell me more than if a person harbours good or bad intentions, it can also tell me if they are sick, or how they are feeling based on their thoughts."

"So you can pretty much tell everything you need to know about someone." InuYasha looked down.

Kagome shook her head. "No. For instance, I can't read a person's mind, just how they feel when they think something. And that only works if I care to believe it." She blushed. "As you know, I tend to over analyze and not listen to reason."

InuYasha smirked. "Keh, would have saved us some trouble."

Kagome looked down and nodded softly.

"What else?" InuYasha murmured.

"What else?" Kagome looked confused.

"Yeah. What else can you do?"

Kagome bit her lip and studied him warily. "Well, I can read instincts and manipulate them."

InuYasha raised a brow. "Huh?"

"Like with animals. That's how I was able to tame Taiga. I can change how they feel about me, get them to trust and know me."

"How the fuck can you do that?" He looked bewildered.

Kagome shrugged. "Animals are not bound by inhibition or rationalization. They are based on instinct, you know, survival. I just make myself not a threat to them. I touch their souls so they know me and therefore trust me. Sometimes even have them want to protect or befriend me. That is why I was hindered by the bear."

InuYasha looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Kagome frowned. "It was weird. At first, I could sense a presence and it felt unnatural. That's why I thought it was you."

"Gee, thanks."

Kagome grinned softly as she contemplated what she remembered. "No, like, it wasn't an animal, it wasn't instinctual. But then it was gone. But I could hear it moving in the woods. I got my bow out, but still couldn't tell what it was. I knew you could suppress your aura, so I thought it was you, trying to scare me, to get back at me for our argument. Then the bear shot out of nowhere and pinned me to the ground. I tried to reach into it, but I hurt too much and I couldn't concentrate. Then you came and killed it."

InuYasha looked away. "I hope you're not pissed that I did that. It was going to kill you, you know."

Kagome nodded. "Yes, it would have, but it wasn't its intention."

He regarded her carefully. "How can you be sure of that? It's just an animal. You said yourself it doesn't rationalize, that it's based on instinct."

"Yes." Kagome knitted her brow. "But I sensed something when it died."

"When it died?" He scoffed. "Is that why you were trying to pet it?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trying to pet it, idiot. It's… it's hard to explain. When it died, I felt its soul, and… I don't know… felt like it was shocked that I was there, and about what happened. It just didn't seem to be of its own mind. But then it changed, it became peaceful and I knew it didn't want to hurt me. I was just sad it happened the way it did."

InuYasha shook his head. "This is too fucked up for words."

Kagome cast her gaze at him. "You don't believe me."

InuYasha shook his head. "No, not that, just… it's a bit unbelievable that you can manipulate instinct. I mean, how does that work?"

Kagome flicked her gaze at him. "Here, give me your hand." She reached out her hand.

"Why?" He looked at her sceptically.

"I just want to show you something." She huffed.

He scowled at her in annoyance and held out his hand.

Kagome gently placed her fingertips onto his own. "Normally, it was only animals I could read, but now…." She closed her eyes and concentrated, finding again the quiet darkness, and felt the pulse in his fingertips. So softly she could feel his insecurities, doubts, fears, anger, betrayal and hate. They all mingled and swirled with each other that she was amazed she would single out one emotion from the next. She then centred her calm within his wracked passions and eased them away, bringing forth only one emotion, tranquility.

She opened her eyes to look into his. His eyes were closed and his mouth opened slightly.

She lifted her fingers from his hand and smiled softly as he opened his eyes to her.

"Oh." Was all he could say.

Kagome's smile faded, as she got lost in her thoughts. She looked down at her feet in the snow.

"How?" He whispered.

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know. I never knew I could do that before."

"Why?" He moved closer beside her.

Again she shook her head. "I don't know."

He looked as if he wanted to say more, but not sure what.

She searched his face and breathed. "It started when… I met you."

"Me?" He murmured.

She nodded softly. "And I don't know anymore than that."

InuYasha was quiet. The effects of her touch and the calm she placed in him were still strong in him. He felt protective over her, like she was the air he had to breathe. He wasn't sure what it is he wanted to say or do, just that he wanted to sit here with her and just be for the moment.

"InuYasha?"

He grunted.

She was silent.

He turned to see her looking down the well. "What?"

"Are you afraid of me?" She whispered.

His eyes widened. "Should I be?"

"Yes." A low voice answered. "You should be."

Both turned quickly to see a figure standing several yards away, concealed by a white baboon skin.


	19. Chapter 19

InuYasha jumped from the lip of the well and growled fiercely. He had not sensed nor smelled the creature before him. He hated being caught unaware.

"Who the fuck are you?" He spat.

"Heh, heh, heh. How rude of me. I am known as the demon Naraku." The creature stood quietly, staring at both of them through a baboon hood mask. The only movement from him was the wind shifting his long white pelt.

Kagome stood frozen. _That voice! I know that voice!_

InuYasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga. "What do you want?"

"Why, Lord InuYasha, I have only come to introduce myself as your humble servant."

Kagome felt dizzy. His aura had blasted over her, trying to sense her. She subdued herself as much as she could. Yet, she could not sense him. He had no aura, but that voice….

"How do you know my name?" InuYasha stood tall, looking down at the demon, trying to deduce the demon's nature.

"Why would I not know of the great Lord InuYasha? This land is filled with stories of your massacres against your enemies." Still the creature did not move.

Kagome darted her eyes to InuYasha.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed. "Why are you here?"

"To offer my services to you." Naraku replied.

"I have no need for anything, now leave." The inu demon snarled.

"No? Not even the power to make you a full demon?" Naraku queried.

InuYasha bulked. "There is no such power."

"Oh?" The voice feigned surprise. "Have you not heard of the Shikon no Tama?"

InuYasha drew back stunned. "The one in the fairy tale?"

"Oh, I assure you, it is no tale. The Shikon is very much real."

Kagome watched silently. Every time the creature spoke, the more she felt she had to run from him. A deadly terror filled her but her legs would not obey. All she could do was listen and try to keep her heart from beating itself to death.

"I see that you are a fucking moron." InuYasha sneered. "What would possess you to believe in children's stories?"

"Heh heh heh." His hand stretched out and fisted the air. "Because, I have seen the jewel, and have come close to taking it."

Kagome's eyes widened. _Taking it? Why does that sound so familiar?_

"Huh?" InuYasha stepped back.

Naraku shifted his gaze over the hanyou. "Do you know of the legend, my lord?"

InuYasha scowled. "Why would I care to remember children's fables?

"Because," the demon replied, "a story starts somewhere, on something. In every story, there is a basis of truth. The Shikon is one such truth."

"Alright, I'll play along with your insanity." InuYasha shift positions, trying to scent the wind. "What is the big deal about the jewel?"

"The jewel has the ability to grant wishes, but more importantly, can make stronger the one who possesses it."

InuYasha flicked his ears. "And if the jewel is real, what of it?"

The demon watched him fully and chuckled. "I have come because I believe the jewel is nearby, possibly in your very lands. All I ask, is that you allow me to find it. With your help, I will be able to discover its location. And as a thank you, will give you the jewel to become what you most desire."

Kagome darted her gaze from one demon to the other. She could not feel the aura of the creature called Naraku. He was either suppressing it masterfully, or he wasn't there at all. And there was something about him she hated beyond all recognition. It was the fact that she knew him, and she could not place where. But emotions of dread, fury, death and chaos were what she understood. This demon could not be trusted. She stood still, unsure of InuYasha's motives, but she could sense he was not fully paying attention to the demon's words.

"And what do you know of my desires?" InuYasha goaded, side stepping in an arc around the white cloaked demon.

"That for close to two hundred years, you have been under the dominating hand of your older half brother, Sesshomaru. I know that he took you of your rightful claim, and had fought you for the very sword you are holding now. I know that you hated being a half demon, too weak to even claim back what was yours. And now, under… special… circumstances," Naraku turned his head to Kagome, "you finally have it back. But… for how long?"

InuYasha jumped back to hide Kagome from the demon's sight. His eyes burned in white hot rage. "How the fuck do you know all this?"

"Stories… my lord… stories." Naraku grinned under the baboon mask.

Kagome paled slightly and looked hard at the back of the hanyou, willing him to hear her. _Don't listen to him. Don't…. He's manipulating you. I don't know why but he knows the darkness in you. Don't listen, please._ She shook but still felt unable to say anything that would make any sense to the situation. A chill settled in her soul and she felt death all around her. She cast her eyes around the glen. Everything looked dull, listless and bare, like the life was being drained from it all.

InuYasha looked hard at the demon. "You believe the Shikon is real and that it's here?"

"InuYasha?" She whispered. _Don't listen!_

He flicked his ears back to her, then forward as Naraku spoke.

"Yes, very real and very close."

"Close?"

"Yes, I believe it may be in one of your villages. Possibly horded by a priest or priestess, since they have the capability of using the jewel, and masking its power."

Kagome gasped. _The mikos! The destroyed villages!_ _That thing was look for a jewel!_

InuYasha flicked an ear back at her before stepping closer to the cloaked demon. "And why would I trust you to bring me the jewel?"

Naraku raised its head to settle fully on the hanyou. "Hmm. A most wise question. How could you trust me? Other than joining with me…."

InuYasha again walked the arc around the demon. "Join with you? Just why would I join a bastard like you!" He leapt in the air and transformed the decrepit Tetsusaiga into a large steel fang.

Naraku glided quickly to the side to narrowly miss the sword's crash to the ground.

"Why, my lord, what ever is the matter?" The demon feigned surprise.

"You asshole! Do you honestly think I would not recognize your scent! You are the one who destroyed all those villages! And for a fucking story!" InuYasha seethed.

"Hmm. I forgot how perceptive the demon dog's nose was. Something I should have realized when I propositioned your brother."

"Otou-san?" Kagome stepped forward, her eyes wide.

Naraku turned his eyes to the girl. "Ah yes, the demon lord's daughter. How intriguing that you mask your aura so. What are you hiding?"

Kagome stepped back as the demon lunged towards her.

"Oh no you don't!" InuYasha charged and swiped abruptly where the demon was heading, only for Naraku to side swipe out of the way at the last moment.

"So eager to protect your mate. How very tender." Naraku laughed quietly.

"Fucker! You leave her out of this, your war is with me!" Again the hanyou tore the air where his adversary previously stood.

Naraku clucked his tongue. "InuYasha, I would have thought you of all creatures would understand. This is a chance for great power. A demon who has caused as much destruction as you have would not blink at the thought of a few small villages."

Kagome looked over at InuYasha. "InuYasha."

"Don't listen to him, Kagome. He's lying." The hanyou growled.

"Am I? The sword you hold is proof of my words. Who has not heard of the death and mayhem that sword was responsible for." Naraku calmly replied.

InuYasha seethed. "It was war."

"Indeed, against the only member of your family, and over land. So many lost their lives over something so petty."

InuYasha lunged again. "Bastard, I have no need to explain my actions to you!"

"Heh heh heh. Maybe not to me, but what of your mate. It was her people you killed, her village."

Kagome paled and looked over at InuYasha. Her mouth went suddenly dry. _What does he mean? My village? InuYasha was the one who destroyed my village? The demon army, my mother…oh gods, it was him!_

InuYasha hacked and slashed at the demon, but he was always out of reach. "I did not destroy any village." He growled.

"Hmm. Amazing what a little bit of doubt can do, don't you think?" Naraku flicked his head over to Kagome.

InuYasha turned his head to look at Kagome. She was pale and tears flowed from her eyes. Her mouth was open in a silent question.

_No! Kagome, don't believe!_

InuYasha turned his head back to see a brown tendril shoot out from the cloak. He leapt out of the way and slashed the tendril, cutting it from Naraku.

"She makes a wonderful distraction, InuYasha." The cloaked figure laughed.

"Kagome, get the fuck away from here!" InuYasha roared. Tetsusaiga glowed heavily.

Kagome lurched her body away from the well and towards the tree line. A tendril streaked behind her.

InuYasha swiped Tetsusaiga towards it, cutting off the tendril's path. Another tendril whipped from behind him and pierced through his gut, impaling him to a large tree.

In numbed shock, InuYasha dropped Tetsusaiga. Blood streamed down his stomach and legs in small rivulets.

"InuYasha!" Kagome screamed and ran towards him.

"Ka… gome. Run." InuYasha's throat gurgled with blood.

The tendril ripped out of him and he unceremoniously dropped to the ground. A wide gaping hole filled his abdomen.

He lay lifeless in the snow. His eyes were hidden by blood-flecked bangs.

Naraku turned to Kagome. "So little girl, it's just you and me. I'll make sure to make it quick and painful."

Kagome skidded to a halt meters from him. Her eyes darted from InuYasha's body to the demon before her. Her eyes narrowed in rage. A heavy pulsed echoed around her.

Naraku stood still, feeling a shift of power erupt in her. "What are you doing, Hime?"

Her storm grey eyes flashed slight crimson, then violet, and her heart began to race hard against her chest. Fury and delight in the hunt flooded her veins. She wanted blood on her hands, his blood. She stretched her hands up to her face and clawed her fingers before her. "Bring it on." She heaved out a guttural growl, then screamed in pain as she toppled to the ground, clutching her chest and stomach.

Naraku sniffed the air. "How is this possible? You smell of…."

"Demon!"

Naraku turned to see InuYasha stand before him. His face was pale and violet scratches were marked on his cheeks. Blood poured from the gaping hole in his stomach, yet he stood without notice of it.

"You are mine." InuYasha growled, his voice was guttural and deep. He flashed his glowing red eyes up to stare into the black hollowness of the baboon mask.

Naraku glided away from the full demon that stood before him. He looked at the girl behind him writhing on the ground in the corner of his eye. "How very clever. Joining the girl with your life force. I am curious how you can do that." He moved towards the prone girl.

InuYasha flexed his claws. "Bastard! Stay the hell away from her!" He leapt forward.

Naraku focused fully on the demon before him and flit to the side. "You are a full demon now. This is surprising. No matter, it is but a small delay to your demise."

Tendrils whipped out at all angles. Kagome watched as two came towards her. She gasped in pain and rolled out of the way only to see InuYasha pinned by three of the tendrils. She gripped the snow in anger and pain.

InuYasha tore savagely at the tendrils, ripping each off of him. He pounced at the tendrils' source, shredding his claws along the neck.

The head of the demon dropped to the side, laughing. "Impressive. Such strength. I will enjoy joining your power with my own."

"I will have nothing to do with you except your death." InuYasha raged. Blood flowed all around him, but he did not seem to feel it. He was driven on savage youkai strength, yet his mind was clear.

The body of Naraku hovered as tendrils whipped all around.

"So certain?" The masked head replied from the snow capped ground.

The inu youkai slashed his claws at each tendril that aimed for him, but was unable to pull away every one of them. Quickly, tendrils bound InuYasha. He howled in fury.

"InuYasha!" Kagome cried out. She blinked back the crimson sparks flooding her eyes. The pain she was feeling was too much to bear and her mind was becoming clouded.

InuYasha howled again, the sound of cracking bones flooded her ears. Kagome screamed in pain and convulsed on the ground.

"Heh heh heh. I will take the both of you at the same time it seems." The head replied bitterly.

Kagome shook her head, trying to clear it. She managed to force back the pain she was absorbing to comprehend the demon's voice. "I… will not… be taken!" Biting her lips until it drew blood, she forced herself to stand. Her mind was spinning with instinctual blood lust. She wanted vengeance and death. She closed her eyes and gathered her powers inside. Suddenly, she flashed her eyes open at the demon and thrusted her hands out in front of her and away.

InuYasha was torn from the demon's grasp as it was hurtled across the glen.

InuYasha landed and rolled, catching self into a crouching position. He looked at Kagome with red eyes and growled. He sprung towards her. With wide eyes she flashed her hand out. "Down!"

InuYasha was pinned face first to the ground as a tendril whipped over him, narrowly impaling his neck.

She did not see what the inu demon saw as a stem of the demon grappled around her, lifting her high and flung her away.

Kagome landed in a crumpled heap. She lay still in the snow filled glen.

With her hold on him broken, InuYasha thrusted himself upright. His eyes darted from the spiralling demon body, to the body of the still miko. "Kagome!"

He ran to her side, dodging limbs as they rushed towards him. Landing by her side, he quickly picked her up and held her to his body, bunching his legs to jump to the trees and flee, but each tendril barred his escape.

"You cannot escape me, hanyou!" The head yelled out.

Kagome stirred in InuYasha's arms. "InuYasha." She moaned. Her head was still clouded and her body was still pained by his youkai miasma.

The inu youkai leapt from tendril to tendril, searching desperately for any type of escape.

Kagome's head spun as she peered around groggily. A black mist that swirled in the centre of the body caught her attention. "InuYasha, we have to destroy the body!" She heaved.

"What the fuck do you think I've been trying to do!" The Inu youkai snarled and leapt to another tendril. "I can't get anywhere near it!"

InuYasha landed by the demon's head, holding tight to Kagome, his eyes shooting around the glen looking for a way out.

"Put me down! We have to destroy the black mist, where the heart should be!" Kagome pointed shakily at the chest cavity of the demon's body.

"Clever girl…. So you are a miko!" The head laughed in manic bliss. "No wonder he tried to hide you so fully! I will add both your powers to my own! You are mine!"

_You are mine!_ Kagome's head spun to face the demon's prone head on the ground. "The voice in my dreams." She breathed in shock.

InuYasha's ears swivelled between both of them, his eyes never leaving the demon's body, which now settled in an eerie calm, its tendrils floating casually.

"Ah… Midoriko…. I have finally found you." The head began to laugh.

Kagome kicked herself out of InuYasha's arms and flung herself to the ground by the head. Her eyes flashed indigo. "I am not Midoriko!" She screamed in rage.

"No." The demon chuckled. "She had rather died than face the inevitable. You, however, belong with me!"

"NO!" Kagome screamed in fury and crawled heavily over to pick up the head, only for it to disintegrate in her hands in a mass of colour.

In insane fright, she rolled to watch the body as numerous tendrils shot at them at once.

In a blinding flash, an arrow hurtled through the air between InuYasha and herself, landing thickly into the centre cavity of the demon's chest. In white hot light, the body disintegrated before them.

Kagome and InuYasha spun around quickly to see a cloaked figure stand at the edge of the glen by the very tree InuYasha was pinned against.

The figure lifted its hood.

"Kikyo!" Kagome gasped and stood to stumble shakily to the woman.

InuYasha leapt in front of her and grabbed her, holding her back.

"What the hell is going on." He gripped his arms hard around Kagome, who shook from pain under his hold.

Kikyo looked at the two of them, studying them briefly before turning her eyes to the glen. "That puppet was the answer behind all your questions." She looked at InuYasha and gave him a death filled glare. "I suggest you let her go so we can hurry. Sesshomaru is waiting. All your answers will come from him." She turned on her heel and stalked away.

InuYasha growled furiously.

"InuYasha?" Kagome whimpered under his tight embrace, her eyes began to roll slightly and she felt she was ready to pass out. "Trust." She whispered.

InuYasha's growl subdued but did not fade. He reluctantly let her go only to pick up Tetsusaiga that he dropped by the tree. Within moments, his blood rage faded and both he and Kagome slumped to the ground. InuYasha fell into unconsciousness.

"InuYasha!" Kagome heaved herself to his side. She could still feel the extreme pain and she yelled out as she moved towards him. She lay beside him and held him to her. Looking up she saw Kikyo walk towards them, leading a two headed reptilian steed.

"Ah and Un will carry us to the manor. We haven't much time. His wounds are serious and your link is too strong for you bear it. Come, he is waiting." Kikyo helped them onto the small dragon's back.

InuYasha opened and then closed his eyes as the beast moved underneath him. He was comatose when they reached their destination, so was oblivious to the life that was draining out of Kagome, and into him.


	20. Chapter 20

It was black. Very black. He couldn't see anything. It was if he was floating in perpetual darkness. And it seemed thick. It was too heavy to breath, and too heavy to move. And he felt too tired to do any of it. He just stayed in the black. Echoes of voices around him were muffled. He listened numbly.

"How is he?"

"The wounds are healing."

"Any signs of pain?"

"No."

Silence.

"I don't think it was wise, my lord."

"It was necessary."

"It would have killed them both."

"That would be impossible."

"How is she?"

"Alive."

Darkness slipped him deeper into its folds.

She hurt. Beyond all that she could recognize, she was sure pain was all there is and all there ever was. She hurt so bad she could never remember a time where she did not feel the weight of suffering bearing down on her. She couldn't move. She could barely breath. It hurt to do anything. The soft mattress under her felt like a heated compressor against every pore of her body. And she could not let it go. She clung to the pain like a lifeline, afraid to let it go.

"Kagome?"

She allowed a small tilt of her head towards the voice.

"Drink."

Cool liquid dripped past her cracked lips. Her dry throat felt like was absorbing it before she could reflexively swallow. She didn't even taste it. She couldn't. Everything tasted of blood. Or was it the memory of blood?

She moved her lips slightly, trying to mouth the word 'more'.

Liquid dripped into her. And so it went until she fell back to painful oblivion.

The world looked bleary. He could feel now. Everything throbbed. He managed to open his eyes. Or thought they were open. Wisps of colour moved past him. He tried to blink to clear his vision. He breathed heavily.

"Am I awake?"

"Yes."

"Where is Kagome?"

"Near."

"I will kill you if you harm her."

"Likewise."

InuYasha closed his eyes tightly and swallowed. He opened them again. The room grew more into focus.

"Sesshomaru?"

Silence. Golden eyes studied him. InuYasha flicked his gaze around the room. It was bare, with a few chests and a futon that he laid upon.

"How did I get here?" He licked his lips and tried to move, but he felt heavy. He slumped uneasily into the futon.

His older brother frowned, if that was possible, but it was the closest thing to describe his expression.

"You were brought here."

InuYasha growled. "I hate how you do that." He winced as a headache pounced into his head.

Silence.

InuYasha clenched his jaw. "I hate that you do that… never speak, and when you do it's just answering what I ask, blatantly refusing to give more information." InuYasha tried to rise again and managed to sit up. It hurt. A lot. He hunched his body as he swung his legs to the floor and waited for the room to stop spinning. Why hadn't he felt this pain before now?

A soft exhale of breath caught his attention.

InuYasha turned his head stiffly to glare at the demon lord. "What?"

"I had forgotten how brazen you could be." His brother did the unexpected and moved to stand beside him, as if waiting for something.

InuYasha sighed and stood, swaying slightly. He looked around again, sniffing. Following the smell he was tracking, he turned to his brother. "Where is Kagome?"

"She is safe. She should also be rousing." Sesshomaru walked to the door and waited.

"I want to see her." The hanyou stepped slowly to stand beside him and slumped on the doorframe.

Sesshomaru regarded him carefully. "Do you think it wise? That I should allow you to be near her when you could not protect her?"

InuYasha snarled. "She is my mate. She is mine. I will do as I want with her."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "How naïve." With that he walked out of the room.

InuYasha heaved a heavy breath and hoisted his body from the doorframe to reluctantly follow. Someday he would kick his brother's ass and get a full conversation out of him.

"Kagome, dear, how are you feeling?"

Kagome felt tired but roused at the familiar and welcoming voice. "Okaa?"

Rin stood beaming above her and sat beside her. As Kagome sat up stiffly in bed, her mother wiped away stray tendrils of hair from her face. Kagome smiled softly at the simple and soft gesture.

"My little Kagome."

Kagome sighed. "I haven't heard that in such a long time." She looked up at Rin. "I missed it."

Rin smiled. "You will always be my little girl. Now, how are you feeling?"

Kagome opened her mouth but then thought otherwise. Telling your mother that the bear attack you suffered felt like kitten kisses compared to the way you felt now was not the way to go. "Better." She stated simply.

Rin nodded. "The pain should soon be fading now that InuYasha is awake."

"InuYasha?" Kagome sat up straighter, ignoring the fact that the pain she was suffering was now dulling. "Where is he? Is he okay?"

Rin moved to help her out of bed. "He is better as well. Come on, your father needs to speak to you both."

Kagome's breath hitched into her throat. _Otou-san…._

The Great Hall looked exactly the same. Except no advisors lined the walls and a large fire roared in the grand fire case at the far alcove. Kagome walked gingerly into the room and shivered. So many memories and so many untruths came from this very room.

Rin led her to the large oak table, a new addition since her last visit in this room. The room still showed signs of the day InuYasha came for her. She smiled in spite of herself, casting her gaze to the middle of the room where she was pledged to InuYasha. She was amazed how much has changed since that day in this very room. Amazing how different she felt. She was brought out of her wonderings with the gentle voice of her mother.

"Wait here for your father. I have to check on the baby."

Kagome spun in her chair, her eyes flicking from her mother's stomach to her face. "Okaa… you had the baby! I'm sorry, I never… when? What is it? Can I see it?"

Rin opened her mouth before a smooth voice echoed in the hall.

"Such occasions will wait. Rin, please tend to our other child." Sesshomaru walked in the room, his stature regal and in control.

Rin smiled at her daughter and then her husband. She was delighted her family was all here. She nodded. "You'll see him when you are done here." She gave Kagome a quick kiss on the forehead and patted Sesshomaru's arm on the way out, only to side step out of the way as a very contrite hanyou burst around the corner.

Sesshomaru growled at the supposed threat to safety of his mate as InuYasha walked stiffly into the room.

InuYasha noticed and shuffled out of Rin's way to allow her through the door. As she walked beside him on her way out she smiled and whispered something. He quickly turned his head towards the occupants in the room and moved swiftly to the table. "Kagome…."

Kagome smiled brightly. "InuYasha…." She looked him over, her face falling. "Are you…?"

InuYasha sat in a chair beside her. "I'm fine." He growled in discomfort. From the corner of his eye he studied her. He quickly sniffed and found she was unharmed though she looked as if she went through hell and back. Either way, she was still beautiful.

Kagome grinned. She felt what he was feeling then she quickly sobered. "How did I feel that? I didn't even touch the necklace!"

InuYasha turned to face her, an expression of shock flicked through him. She felt what he felt? He could feel her confusion. _She was right. What was going on?_

"Then you both know what the rosary does." Sesshomaru walked towards the table.

InuYasha rounded on him. "You fucking bastard! What the fuck is the big idea! Why the fuck did you get that fucking wolf to put this fucking thing on me?"

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes internally though his face was impassive. "InuYasha, I see you have gotten more articulate with your age."

The hanyou growled. "Whatever! Now answer me."

The great lord stood at the head of the table and watched them both. "The rosary was suited for one specific purpose: to combine your auras. As for why I sent Kouga, time was of the essence and Kouga is the fastest of my legion."

InuYasha flexed his claws. Before he could shout more obscenities peppered with questions, Kagome butted in.

"The reason why we have come, Father, is because we are not certain the purpose or the reasoning behind the rosary. We had hoped you would explain all that we needed to know and possibly all that we want to know once you have told us your rationale towards this joining you speak of."

InuYasha's jaw dropped. Kagome stood tall and proud and her voice sounded proper and with poise. Where the hell was the spitfire he has lived with for the last three months?

Sesshomaru nodded his head solemnly. "Then I will tell you what you need to know."

InuYasha's jaw dropped even further. Sesshomaru was going to divulge information without having a secret key code to get it out of him?

"The rosary had but one purpose, to meld your two auras. It was a necessary action." Sesshomaru looked from Kagome, to InuYasha and then back to Kagome.

InuYasha fumed, hadn't he just said that? Then again, maybe he wasn't going to say much more than that. He growled only to stop when Kagome rested her hand on his. _Patience._ The emotion flooded into him and he remained quiet and listened.

Sesshomaru watched them closely. "The purpose as to why it combines your auras is an explanation that will come when needed. First, I must comprehend the extent to which the rosary had joined the two of you."

InuYasha sat in silence. _What the fuck does that mean?_

Kagome sighed, sensing his confusion. "It means, what does the necklace do to us?" She looked up at her father. "When the rosary was placed on InuYasha, nothing that I was aware of had happened. It was only until after I touched it did things begin to change."

Sesshomaru gazed at her intently.

She tilted her head in thought. "The first time I touched it, InuYasha was fighting with Kouga. When I touched the necklace it drained our strength so much that we could barely stand. The second time, we were angry at each other and it forced us apart. The third time, under the suspicion of Miroku, the monk of InuYasha's manor, we shared emotions." Kagome blushed remembering the feeling and turned her head away. InuYasha also flushed.

She was silent for a moment before she continued, her voice sounded distant. "On our way here, I fell into the river. InuYasha saved me and brought me to a cave. The next morning…." She looked quickly up at her father, her cheeks burned. InuYasha smirked. She shot him a deathly glare, sensing his lewd thoughts.

Sesshomaru quirked a brow. "So the rosary has only worked when you both are in contact with it?"

Kagome looked at InuYasha, then her father. She shook her head. "No, now I can feel his aura in me without touching it at all. How did this happen? Why did this happen?"

Sesshomaru turned his head to the door where Rin had exited. "Kikyo."

The miko from the meadow was walking stoically into the room. She shut the door behind her and moved to stand beside the demon lord. She gave InuYasha an icy stare before roaming her eyes to Kagome. An unreadable expression passed over Kikyo's face.

"What do you sense?" Sesshomaru asked her.

Kikyo gazed at her student then closed her eyes. She nodded. "She has developed them in your absence. He would have found her eventually."

Sesshomaru growled. "Then it was necessary."

Kikyo nodded and gave InuYasha another icy glare. "Yes, though I had hoped there was another way."

InuYasha's eyes narrowed and Kagome looked at all three.

"I think we need to know what you are talking about." She stated simply.

Kikyo looked over at Sesshomaru who nodded in kind.

Kikyo turned back to Kagome. "It will come to light its importance once we know how far you have progressed. Tell me, what powers you have developed since you had left the Western Territory?"

Kagome gaped. "Powers? I don't know what…."

Sesshomaru growled again, this time louder.

Kagome ducked her head down to look at the table. "I don't know how or why they started…."

"Those answers will come once we know what you have accomplished." Kikyo stated sternly.

Kagome licked her lips, quite aware of the full attention of the hanyou beside her. She could see his ears flicking quickly to each party member. She felt like she was being scrutinized for something she couldn't control. She also felt naked and raw that they were aware she had these powers and were calling her on it. And because of it all she felt like she was on display, waiting to be picked apart.

"Kagome." Her father barked. "You must answer."

She jumped. "Auras. I have seen auras. And I can heal with a touch of my hand."

"Is that all?" Kikyo asked.

She shook her head. "No. I could hear them and see them. They called to me. I also… could feel InuYasha's youkai."

Sesshomaru looked at Kikyo before turning to his daughter. "Who are _they_?"

Kagome breathed in deep and then laughed nervously. "The trees… water… even the air. But to be fair only one tree actually spoke to me, so I'm not completely crazy like having a conversation with a whole forest."

"Kagome, stop rambling." Her father said.

Kagome bit her lip again. She could feel InuYasha's emotions swarm with confusion, doubt and scrutiny. She could only guess his thoughts right now.

"When did this begin?" Kikyo broke her train of thought.

"I believe the night I left the manor with InuYasha. A bear attacked me. He… InuYasha, took care of my wounds. I remember seeing the auras and then I passed out."

Sesshomaru looked hard at both Kagome and InuYasha. "And the other times?"

Kagome looked up, anywhere but at her father. "In the hot spring in the manor." She flicked her eyes at the demon lord at that moment, remembering the reason why the manor was built. She would have to ask her father all her questions regarding his war with InuYasha at a better time. "InuYasha had walked in on me and I saw the auras come to life, but they faded when I left the room. And I could read his youkai for the first time."

Her father nodded. "Is that all?"

She shook her head. "In the stable. I had tamed a horse. I was showing off to InuYasha…and I accidentally channelled his youkai. He… we…. Um, I ran to the ocean and it was there that everything looked brighter. More real. And there was a tree. It was sick and I felt it call to me."

The room fell silent. She cringed.

"What happened?" Kikyo asked.

Kagome looked at all three, looking last at InuYasha who was studying the table with numbed interest. She could feel his distrust of her building. "Please don't make do this." She whispered.

Kikyo frowned. "No, Kagome, you have to tell us. You have to tell us everything."

"Why?" Kagome fidgeted with her fingers.

A low growl erupted by her side. "Kagome, you had better tell me everything. I want to know why I have this damned necklace around my neck and so far it has everything to do with you. So you better tell me all of it." InuYasha's voice was cold and hard. Anger, hurt, betrayal and a full range of other emotions washed over her.

Kagome glared at her lap. Unshed tears burned the back of her eyes. How could she explain any of this? How could she not make it sound as if she was losing her mind?

"The tree?" Kikyo asked. "Tell me everything you remember about it."

Kagome opened her mouth only to have her throat close off. She sighed. Her voice was shaky when she finally replied. "The tree looked dark. I touched it and it grew brighter. I knew it was sick. When I moved closer to it I knew the ground was making it sick, so I healed the ground. I swear I don't know how I did it. I just touched the dirt and it was right again and the tree got better. And a few months later I found myself near the tree again. It was healthy. I touched it and… I know it sounds stupid… but I am sure I felt it thank me."

"Is that when I found you talking to that tree?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome tilted her head in a slight nod.

InuYasha growled. "Are you telling me you were using these powers all this time in front of me and you never told me about them?"

Anger rolled from him into her and her own emotions joined with it.

Kagome shot her eyes at him. "I wasn't _using my powers_. I didn't know how to control them or why they were there or if I could control them at all. I was scared, alright? For all I knew I was going crazy! I mean, come on! Every time I kiss you the world spins away and bright rainbows blind me and voices fill my mind? You think I want to admit that to you when I don't even know what it was all about?"

InuYasha's mouth dropped. "Every time we…. Is that why you always ran from me?

Kagome flushed. "No, well, yes, but not totally. You were still an ass and my enemy at the time!"

"I thought we got past all that." He seethed.

"We did!" Kagome fumed. "I also told you it became something else, something more complicated. I was about to tell you then but then you kissed me! And then other things got in the way and I couldn't."

She could see InuYasha's mind recall that day. His eyes narrowed. "When Kouga came, you were seeing it then weren't you? That's why you wouldn't open your eyes. I thought I… I thought you were in pain!"

Kagome growled. "It was bright and I couldn't see. Then you had to get all savage at Kouga and for some fucked up reason I was soaking up your youkai emotions! And believe me, feeling you in any form is no damn picnic. It was enough trouble feeling just your youkai before the necklace! Now I have to feel all of _you_ all the time, not just when we're…." She shut up then and there and slumped back onto her chair.

InuYasha folded his arms and slumped back into his own.

"I see." Sesshomaru stated simply.

"What!" InuYasha barked.

"It seems the rosary was placed just at the right moment." Kikyo replied.

"I think I'm starting to go crazy here!" The hanyou jumped up from the table. "Tell me when you have it sorted out and give me the quick and easy when you're through. I'm outta here!"

Sesshomaru was beside him within a moment. He pushed the hanyou back into his seat. "You will remain where you are, and you will listen."

InuYasha fought against the grip. "And why the fuck should I? Ever since I met this girl my life has been trouble! Now I find she is more than what she says and she didn't even tell me anything! All I hear is excuses! First it was you, then it was me, then it was necklaces, and now it's unexplainable powers? Had I known you were pawning off a freak I would have retracted my claim the moment I set foot in this hell hole!"

Kagome paled. _A freak?_

Sesshomaru's claws dug deep into the hanyou's shoulder. "You will apologize to your mate."

"And why should I?" InuYasha winced slightly as poison from the claws dripped into him.

"Because though she was misled, she had listened to you. Though she now knows you as you are, she still stands by you. Though she kept from you her powers, it was her fear you would reject her. And now she bares it all with undeniable scrutiny from the very soul she is connected to, who should see past her words to her truth." Sesshomaru snarled.

InuYasha paled. He glimpsed at Kagome who was looking away from him. He could sense her confusion, pain and doubt. He sat heavily without need of force and looked away.

"Kagome." Kikyo spoke after a moment of silence. "You are aware that these powers manifested during or after you were intimate with your mate?"

Kagome turned to her sensei and nodded unfeelingly.

"Have you ever felt this towards anyone else? Anything else?" The miko asked. "Possibly while living here?"

InuYasha's ears flicked back intently.

Kagome shook her head. "No."

Kikyo cast her eyes to Sesshomaru. "Then they arose away from your aura. Without them suppressed, her emotions brought them to light. They may have been more defined and developed had she admitted to her emotions. Her stubbornness and his… he had kept her powers at bay, though the powers had fought for dominance."

Kagome frowned. "What… and what?"

Kikyo sighed. "Kagome. You are not who you think you are."


	21. Chapter 21

Kagome blinked. _You are not who you think you are._ Too many questions arose from that comment alone. All wanted to spew forth but no words could emote what she was feeling right then. Only one sound could possibly ask it all. "Huh?"

Kikyo turned to Sesshomaru. "He knows of her already."

Sesshomaru watched Kagome intently. "How?"

"I am not sure. I had created the rosary to act as the siphon. He should not have found her as he did." Kikyo shook her head.

"Can she still use them?"

"I only witnessed her force field. But it has gotten stronger. She also purified the head with a touch of her hands without channelling."

"And of the auras?"

"I cannot tell."

Sesshomaru's eyes never left Kagome. "Tell me. Since the rosary was placed, had the auras occurred?"

Kagome was numbed. She wasn't even listening to the conversation now. _You are not who you think you are_. They knew she progressed in powers. They did not seem surprised. They knew what to ask. They knew what they were looking for. They knew how they happened. Why? Who are they then? If she was not who she thought she was, they were not who she thought they were either. Fear, anger, mystification…. Too many emotions, not just from her, but from InuYasha as well. She needed to shut them out. If it was at all possible she felt hollow and devoid of emotion and at the same time she felt overwhelmed with them. She cast her eyes up at her father, watching him mouth words, but did not hear them.

"Kagome." Sesshomaru stated.

She blinked at him and her eyes drew into focus.

Sesshomaru looked at her sternly. He hated to ask again.

"Yes, she has."

All eyes but Kagome's focused on the hanyou beside her.

"What?" The demon lord asked and his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, she has." InuYasha looked hard at his brother. "Or actually, I had."

Kagome tilted her head towards him.

"Explain." Kikyo frowned, eyeing him with distain.

InuYasha scowled. "On our way here. We were together and I saw these colours. I also felt them. I know what she speaks of." He looked at Kagome from the corner of his eye. "She was touching the necklace though."

Kikyo nodded. She faced the younger girl. "Kagome? Please, listen. All will be revealed to you momentarily. But first, we must know if you can channel these powers with the rosary in place."

Kagome looked up her mentor. She nodded slowly and dully, her mind was spinning and she felt like she was losing control. "Yes, now by my will. I channelled a tree's aura while on our journey here... and I swayed InuYasha's aura."

"Swayed his aura?" Kikyo asked surprised.

Kagome nodded. "I… uh… I felt his emotions and I channelled the one I wanted him to feel."

All looked at her stunned. InuYasha's mind spun so much it made her dizzy and she was quickly becoming overwhelmed and anxious. She wanted this over with, she wanted….

Sesshomaru nodded. "I see. Then they cannot be contained any longer. We need to make other measures for her safety. Kikyo I need you to…."

"Enough." Kagome's head shot up and glared at the demon lord.

Sesshomaru's eyes grew fierce. "You do not know whom you speak."

Kagome's face grew cold. "I know exactly whom I speak."

Sesshomaru growled in domination.

Kagome shook her head. "No. I am sorry, Father, but I have been patient long enough. Now you will answer to me."

Again the demon lord growled, trying to force his control.

Kagome's eyes shot to look into his own, her hands fisted, and his growls stopped in a slight choke. "If I have the power to subdue the Demon Lord of the Western Territory, even without the knowledge of how, then you WILL find it prudent to answer me."

She released her aura's hold on her father. He raised his head slightly in shock. She sighed. "Please forgive me, father. But if you fear for my safety as you seem, then you must explain why my safety must be feared. Especially now with these powers you seem to know of."

Kikyo did not look at her Lord. Instead, she closed her eyes and cast her head down. "We had hoped this would never come."

Sesshomaru turned his head away, his face expressionless.

Kikyo nodded and lifted her gaze to the girl. "It all has to do with the creature you encountered on the way here. But that will not make sense to you unless you know where it all began." Kikyo moved to seat herself across from Kagome. "What do you remember of your village?"

"My village?" Kagome frowned. "It was destroyed." She flicked her eyes at InuYasha. "I don't know how it was destroyed, but the creature blamed InuYasha. But I knew it was a lie. I knew when it spoke, for some reason, it was that creature that was involved."

The hanyou beside her shifted slightly. She could sense relief and bitterness, but it was growing faint. Why was it…?

Kikyo sighed. "Initially, yes."

"Initially?" The younger woman asked, focusing her attention to the miko.

"I don't know if you remember. You used to have nightmares of that day." Kikyo sighed.

Kagome nodded stoically and looked away at the far wall. Her stomach churned as images flowed in her mind's eye. "Yes. I remember it. There was a fire and my mother was trying to save me from it. Demons took me from her arms and killed her in front of me. I… I don't like to remember." She lowered her head. "You both found me and brought me here. You raised me as your own." She felt a wash of shame over the fact she had just attacked her father. "I had almost forgotten about the dreams."

InuYasha's head turned towards her. He never knew. But then again, what did he know of her? He sat back to listen.

"Yes. You used to dream of that day for many months. But you also said you heard a voice." The miko replied.

Kagome's head shot up. _A voice!_

"At first we believed it was just a repercussion of the nightmares. Until you could remember what it said."

"Where are you, Midoriko?" Kagome whispered.

"Yes."

"It was he… that creature?"

"Yes."

"How… why?" Kagome looked up from Kikyo to Sesshomaru and back.

"It all comes back to the destruction of your village. And the legend of the Shikon no Tama." Kikyo halted, not at all quite sure how to continue.

InuYasha broke the silence. "That thing attacked her village to get the jewel?"

Sesshomaru's head shot towards the half demon. "How do you know of the jewel?"

InuYasha glowered. "Because that shit has been going around slaughtering villages and pinning it against us. But I would know his stench anywhere. I managed to get out of him what I could. He was searching for some Shikon no Tama because he believed the fairy tale was true."

"It is." Sesshomaru replied.

"What?" The hanyou gawped.

"That creature goes by the name Naraku. And he has been searching for that jewel ever since Kagome was a small child." His brother replied.

"What does Kagome have to do with any of this? Is it because she is a miko?"

"No." Kikyo answered. "Because she is the miko."

InuYasha growled. "This is getting more confusing with every word you say."

"Then I suggest you shut up and listen." Sesshomaru growled. "And know what you have bound yourself to."

InuYasha was about to argue but then closed his mouth. His expression was that of suspicion.

"Naraku was searching for the jewel and the first village he struck was Kagome's." Kikyo began. "Her village was where the legend began."

"You mean Kagome's village is where the jewel was in the legend?" InuYasha's ears flicked back and forth.

Sesshomaru's patience was thinning. "Yes. Now listen."

Kikyo frowned. "Naraku is no ordinary demon. We have come to find he is an abomination. A conglomeration of many demons in one."

"How is that possible?" InuYasha barked.

Sesshomaru growled a warning.

"InuYasha…." Kagome's eyes flashed in annoyance, and for some reason she couldn't tell what he was feeling or have him feel patience. She assumed it had to do with the level of emotion in the room since all this began.

InuYasha's mouth shut tight, but he growled slightly in aggravation. He could tell her patience was wearing thin and he did not want to be on the receiving line of her powers, whatever they were turning out to be.

Kikyo sighed, her face turned to one of pained tolerance. "InuYasha, do you know of the legend?"

The hanyou growled. "Yeah. Miko had a jewel and some demon wanted it. They fought and then she killed it but she died. The jewel disappeared and everyone was happy."

Kikyo's head dropped and Sesshomaru's face fell slightly.

"Never before have I heard it told so base and so erroneous." The miko said.

"What the fuck's the matter. It's just a story!" InuYasha growled in embarrassment.

"That story is the reason behind all our problems now." Kikyo fumed.

"No, the fucker Naraku is." InuYasha crossed his arms.

Kikyo's hands gripped upwards, willing her aura to strangle the hanyou if it could, but Sesshomaru beat her to the punch.

"You ignorant fool. How you survived as long as you have is beyond me."

"Well you weren't any help, you bastard!" InuYasha leapt up from his chair.

"INUYASHA! SIT!" Kagome's aura plummeted him to the ground, his face plastered to the hard stone floor. Her eyes widened. "Oh shit, sorry, I didn't mean to force it so hard."

InuYasha twitched slightly as he lifted his body from the floor. He glared up at her. "Apologies don't keep me from tasting the back of my head, bitch!"

She glared down at him. "What did you call me?"

His eyes widened and he sat in a chair away from her. He kept his mouth shut from then on and refused to look at her.

Kikyo watched them both in quiet frustration. Finally she spoke. "The story matters so you must pay attention." She shot the hanyou a hard glare before continuing. "The miko was no ordinary miko. She was very powerful and because of her power, she was the target of many demons since she could purge them of their youkai energy. One demon in particular had the power to combine his aura with others and whether he did it by force or by reasoning, he had joined with many demons to become one. With the combined strength he attacked the miko. They fought for many days, until the miko used the last of her divinity to banish the demon. But it seems that he was not banished for long."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Lord Sesshomaru and I had come to believe this demon has come back, and is now in the form of Naraku, and he again searches for the miko."

"But the miko is dead." Kagome paled.

Kikyo nodded. "Yes, who she was died, but what she was did not. You see, the miko was the Shikon no Tama, not a physical jewel, but a person of phenomenal miko energy, energy that had become born again."

"So Naraku destroyed my village, all of those villages, looking for a miko." Kagome said sadly.

"Yes." Kikyo replied.

"For what purpose?"

"We believe he wishes to meld with the power of the miko to become the most feared demon our world has ever known."

Kagome nodded. "So Naraku thinks I'm this Shikon no Tama."

Kikyo looked over at Sesshomaru. "No, Naraku now knows you are the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome's head shot up. "What! How is this possible?"

"The miko in the legend was capable of many things no ordinary miko could accomplish. Powers that you had developed when you turned three. Like you, she could sense life's auras, heal with a touch of her hand, subdue negativity, and coerce emotion where ever and to whom ever she chose."

"But these powers. They are not developed. They only came to me recently. And as for my other powers… Kikyo, you trained me how to use them like you used yours…."

Kikyo shook her head. "No, you have always had them. I do not. And as for these new developments, you just never knew of them until recently."

"Why?" Kagome's face paled.

"Because I would not allow it." Sesshomaru finally spoke.

"Otou…?"

"Kagome," Kikyo looked up at Sesshomaru then back to her, "we had found you in the village after it was destroyed. We had suspicions of your powers, but believed they were just highly developed spiritual miasma. It was not until your dreams manifested did we know that you were the miko of legend."

Kagome shook her head. "How…?"

"The Miko of legend had a name… Midoriko."

Kagome's voice quivered. "The voice in my dreams…."

"Yes." Kikyo nodded. "We had found out he was channelling his connection to find you, by searching for you in your most vulnerable time. He would search for you in your dreams. It was then that we decided you cannot be found, and to do so, we had to subdue your powers. Lord Sesshomaru had taught you to subdue your aura and thus many of your powers in the process. For the powers he could not contain within you, we had trained you to believe were normal miko abilities that should never be used without dire need."

"But… why?" Kagome looked at her father. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Sesshomaru remained quiet, but his eyes never left her face.

"Kagome. There was one difference between your village and the others that Naraku destroyed." Kikyo paled. "Your village not only harboured the dead of your people, but the dead of Naraku's army. Naraku may have attacked your village and murdered your mother, but it was you who killed them all."

Kagome reeled in her chair and gripped hard on the table. Her voice shook and she felt sick. "What?"

Kikyo moved to sit beside her and held onto Kagome's hand. "Your last memory of your village was watching your mother die in front of you. What child could possibly withstand such a sight? You had just turned three and your powers had finally manifested. Naraku knew you were in that village. He had sought you out, killed your mother in front of you. You were terrified. And somehow your powers drained the life out of everyone around you."

Kagome's voice hitched in her throat. "No… I can't… I couldn't…."

"It couldn't be helped, Kagome. It just happened. You couldn't have controlled it even if you wanted to." Kikyo tried to reason.

Kagome shook her head furiously, trying to keep back tears and the growing nausea.

"With that kind of power, with that kind of knowledge, did you honestly think we could tell you, or even teach you? We cannot even fathom your abilities let alone train you. You are the Shikon no Tama, Kagome. And Naraku knows you exist. We had to protect you at any cost." Kikyo replied softly, stroking the girl's hand. "Even if it meant giving you away."

Kagome's lips trembled. She stared at the table in numbed shock. "What do you mean?"

Kikyo turned her head to Sesshomaru. "Amazingly, Naraku escaped the village after it was destroyed. It would take a long time for him to rally enough force like he had before he had encountered you. When he did, he came to the Western Territory and sought out Lord Sesshomaru."

"How do you know all this?" Kagome cast her eyes around the room, not really seeing anything in particular, swallowing hard.

"Lord Sesshomaru and I were on an offensive against InuYasha during the war. Upon a reconnaissance, a white baboon cloaked figure appeared. He had told Lord Sesshomaru of great power and advantage he would have in the war should Lord Sesshomaru allow Naraku to find the jewel. Lord Sesshomaru already knew you were the jewel and had fought him. He destroyed the puppet, very much like the one you had encountered. We had believed we had destroyed him, only for him to resurface time and again, each time after a village had been destroyed. Flags of the hanyou were often laid out in order for the villagers to rally against each other, to keep the war going. But we had known they were the cause of Naraku. He was using the war as a distraction, in order to search you out. He made it such that the villagers would blame the deaths on whichever Lord was the enemy of the territory, intensifying our war, and our need for his cooperation once our resources had run out. We had realized early on his motivation, but what we could not understand was how he knew of these villages, where to avoid our scouts and where Lord Sesshomaru was at all times in order to find him. We concluded there was a spy in our midst."

"Who?" Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru.

"Jaken." Kikyo scowled. "That impudent toad demon was selling information because he had come to believe our Lord had become weak with his association with humans. We were unaware until recently who this spy was, but we knew you were no longer safe in the western lands, not when someone was actively looking for you here." Kikyo grimaced. "I apologise, Kagome, for what I have to tell you now."

Kagome shook her head slightly. "Nothing can top what I've heard so far." She said meekly.

Kikyo shook her head. "We had no way of protecting you or hiding you any longer. So we planned for you to enter InuYasha's domain in search for red clover. It was unfortunate that Lady Rin should happen to fall ill, but fortuitous for there to be a reason for you to go without suspicion." Kikyo stalled. "We had thought that the hanyou would find you, since I had instructed you to go where he often inhabits, and take you as prisoner. As his prisoner, you would be out of the Western Territory and away from Naraku. We had not thought he would find you and claim you for his mate."

InuYasha growled. "Let me get this straight. You allowed her to come to my territory under the idea that I would take her as a hostage?"

Kikyo nodded. "We had come to realize that there was no sway in this war, and the threat of Naraku was more a threat than you ever were. We believed that under your charge she would be safe until we discovered the spy."

"If that was your intention, why the fuck did you allow her to be mated to me?" InuYasha's mind spun.

Kikyo gave him a stony glance. "Two problems had to be remedied: our war and Naraku. With your joining, our conflict would be void since our resources would be combined, and Kagome would be safe, especially with your dominance of the Tetsusaiga. Your meeting had proven to be serendipitous for us all." Kikyo smiled slightly.

InuYasha shook his head. "I can't believe I played a pawn in this… FUCK!" He leapt up from the table and run his claws through his hair and down to the rosary. "If things worked out so great, then what was the point of this?"

Sesshomaru growled and Kikyo scowled.

"We had found out about Jaken only recently. Let's just say he was very eager to tell of his transgressions. Other than mentioning all that you now know, he did state that Naraku had again channelled Kagome's dreams, though she may not have been aware of it. He could also feel her powers progressing and it was a matter of time before he sought her out in the Eastern territory. We felt it wise to withhold what we knew of Kagome's powers in case power hungry individuals got word of her, yet she still needed to be subdued. I had come up with the rosary." Kikyo tilted her head down.

"You did this!" InuYasha growled and his claws flexed in anger. "Whatever your reasons, I don't give a shit. Take it off me now!"

Kikyo shook her head. "I cannot."

"Why!" He barked.

"Because it would kill you both. The link between you is unnatural…."

"Unnatural! If you knew this then why did you make it!" InuYasha charged up to the miko.

Sesshomaru growled a warning. "Because when it comes to my daughter's life, I would sacrifice any to save her. She is more important than you realize."

InuYasha watched his brother intently and shook his head in denial. He turned away from them to face the fire, crossing his arms in defiance.

"The rosary was created to suit two purposes." Kikyo began.

"Yeah, yeah… to meld our auras or some shit. Tell me something I don't know." InuYasha seethed.

Kikyo cringed. "There are two reasons, then, as to why we though it necessary to meld your auras. The first was to have your youkai subdue Kagome's powers. The other was to have Kagome's powers subdue your youkai."

"And what is the fucking point of that!" InuYasha snarled, flicking his head back at them.

"Because, dear brother, when you are without the Tetsusaiga, you lose control of your youkai. I could not have my daughter protected by a feral creature that could not handle her or any other that came after her while he fought himself. And as for Kagome's powers. You know our reasoning behind that." Sesshomaru glared at the hanyou.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed. "How do you know of the Tetsusaiga's domination of my youkai?"

Sesshomaru smirked slightly. "I, too, have sources. It is how I have come to know what has been happening to my charge since she has been gone."

InuYasha's face turned cold and he swung around to face the demon lord. "There is a spy in my land? Who is it!"

Sesshomaru remained impassive.

InuYasha growled relentlessly. "If you knew of this, then why did you still try to take the sword from me all these years?"

"You know of my reasons for our war. But with knowledge of Kagome's gift's, and the powers to sustain them, my motives had changed." The lord replied.

"So, what, you're saying you don't want Tetsusaiga anymore?" InuYasha's ears flicked back and forth in confusion.

Sesshomaru tipped an eyebrow. "No."

InuYasha looked doubly confused.

"Otou…."

Sesshomaru looked at his adopted daughter. She looked deathly pale and shaken.

"If the rosary was suited to protect me from Naraku by hiding my powers… without me knowing… then why doesn't it work?" Kagome looked over at InuYasha. "I mean, we do feel each other's auras now, but…."

"But?" Kikyo asked.

"But we do not subdue each other. Instead, we… I don't know… share powers?"

Kikyo frowned. "Yes, that has concerned me. It was not the intention. It seems that your auras have taken upon each other to protect each other. For reasons I cannot comprehend. You even now share each other's physical, not just spiritual, sensations."

"Keh. I don't feel anything physical from her." InuYasha crossed his arms. He still refused to look at Kagome.

"No? Without Kagome, you would be dead right now, InuYasha." Kikyo smirked.

"What?"

"While you suffered the brunt of the attack from Naraku, it was Kagome who absorbed your pain and your youkai force. You became a full demon while still retaining your mind. Kagome had taken your pain for you to be able to fight and then heal, while she still had her health to allow herself to do so." Kikyo scowled. "Kagome, on the other hand, had her powers masked by your youkai, though it did her little good. Naraku had discovered her."

"How do you know this?" InuYasha flicked his ears at Kikyo.

"I had witnessed your fight before I was able to purify the demon. I just did not know how to fight him until I heard Kagome speak of the chest…." Kikyo replied.

"Not that, wench! But thanks for explaining your uselessness. I mean about Naraku finding out who she was." InuYasha fumed.

"I… did it." A soft voice spoke beside him.

InuYasha flicked his ears at her but cast his gaze to the wall.

"I did it. I said he was the voice in my dreams. He heard me." Kagome whispered.

InuYasha growled. "And another piece of the Kagome puzzle comes forth! Why didn't you tell me of these dreams too?"

Kagome shook her head feebly. "I didn't remember them. Not until I heard him speak… then… I knew."

"Naraku now knows of her existence. He will stop at nothing to get her. Even now with the rosary binding your powers into one, there is nothing we can do now to hide Kagome from him." Kikyo shook her head solemnly.

InuYasha closed his eyes. "Whatever, I don't care."

Kagome cast her gaze at him, confused. It was like he put up a wall. She could feel nothing from him, almost nothing….

InuYasha sighed and turned his head slightly to Kagome, looking at her in the corner of his eye. "I am honour bound to you. I made an oath to honour and protect. I still don't know what it is I'm protecting, but I will not go back on my oath. But that is all I will do. If that is all there is left of this shit, I'm leaving." He turned and walked out of the room without looking back.

Kagome stumbled back slightly. His emotions were cut off. He was subduing his aura from her. But the little she could feel made her heart clench hard. He hated… he hated her.


	22. Chapter 22

Kagome sat in the darkness of the Hall. She didn't want anyone to talk to her. She didn't want anyone to see her. She felt dead inside. She couldn't even cry. There was nothing. This morning she had a life she knew and tonight she had a fate she didn't want. Her life was in danger. No, she didn't even have a life. She wondered if she was even human any more.

She felt sick. She hadn't eaten in over two days, and she refused to eat now. She neglected the food brought to her after her mother found her alone in the Great Hall and tried to give her food and drink. Eventually, Rin had also found it wise to leave her alone. Kikyo and Sesshomaru left a long while ago to discuss whatever. And InuYasha…InuYasha was nowhere. She couldn't feel him anywhere. And she realized then how strong their bond had become without her knowing. If she felt broken before he left her in the lurch, she felt destroyed now that he blocked himself from her.

Eventually she couldn't stay in the Hall any longer. It felt too open. She stood and walked tentatively out. She wasn't sure where to go. She kept walking until she found herself in the grand chambers. She cast her eyes around. She still couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Ever since InuYasha blocked his aura and Sesshomaru actively let his powers subside from her did her powers finally come to full bloom. Her vision took awhile to clear as the vibrant aura of life swallowed her. She didn't think she would ever get used to the brightness and sharp contrast of her new world. Nor did she think she would ever be able to control the flood of emotions from every living thing in her vicinity. Possibly why she chose to remain alone in the darkened Hall for so long.

She stood in the seemingly empty chambers and followed the one thing she allowed to call for her. Looking down, her heart automatically rocked in her chest. The form below her was brightened by the purest of white. She collapsed on her knees in wonderment to watch the small hanyou baby awaken and smile up at her with copper eyes. Kagome held out her hand to gingerly stroke the downy silver of the baby's head. Two tiny rounded dog-ears pulled back submissively and puppy/baby noises whimpered to her. Her breath caught as the boy, the new heir to the Western territory, beckoned to her with his aura. She shakily reached down and picked him up and sighed in amazement as his tiny frame relaxed against her. So naturally did his life force swallow into hers and then back into him, binding them as siblings and guardians for each other. She shook slightly. She could feel everything about him and she wanted nothing more than to protect him from everything that would cause him harm. Including her.

She hugged him gently to her and placed him back into his bassinet. Quietly she swept the soft tendrils from his forehead and eased serenity into his mind. He yawned and closed his eyes and drifted back into sleep. She turned her head into the darkness.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to see him." She whispered softly and sadly.

Sesshomaru did not reply but watched her stand and walk toward him. He led her out of his chambers. "You are still my daughter regardless. I trust you. Otherwise you would not be alive."

The demon before her was surrounded by a formidable blue aura, but she did not fear him. Kagome's face hinted a smile. She could not explain why. Maybe it was just truly seeing her father for the first time. Oddly enough, his power felt familiar. She glanced up at him as they walked. "I see you as you truly are and I know your aura. You have never hid yourself from me."

Sesshomaru cast his eyes down at her. "And what would I, the Lord Sesshomaru, need to hide from a girl?"

Kagome quirked her head. "You could have. You could do as Inu… InuYasha does now." She ended in a whisper.

"InuYasha is a fool. He does not comprehend the repercussions of your link. But he does feel the withdrawal as you do." His face was impassive.

"Otou… how do you know of all this?" She stopped and looked up at him. "How did you know what powers I had? How did you know how to subdue me? How do you know of this link between me and… him?"

Sesshomaru looked down at her, his eyes full of indescribable power. "Do you not sense it now?"

Kagome closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes. I do. But I've been ignoring it." She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "What is it?"

He turned and walked down the long corridor. 

She followed without a word and in silence they walked to the Great Hall, now lightened by massive candles. Sesshomaru stepped over to the large fireplace and he looked at her from the corner of his eye. Without warning he placed his hand into the fire.

Kagome yelped as she watched his blue light flicker in swirls of black as pain erupted in him. "Otou-san! Stop!"

Just as she spoke a mass of power erupted by his side and she saw his sword glow brighter than the sun and stars.

He withdrew his hand from the fire and placed it on the hilt of the sword. Just as he touched it, the pain in him faded and the blackness disappeared.

"The Tensaiga." Kagome breathed in awe.

Sesshomaru tilted his head in acknowledgement. "The very power you contain in you, I also contain in this sword."

"But… but that's a youkai sword! How is it possible?" Kagome gasped.

He turned to her. "The great demon whom this sword was made possessed powers beyond what was believed capable. But his powers were also limited. What powers he did control still lives on. His body and mind he placed within Tetsusaiga. His heart and soul he placed in Tensaiga. From his life essence does the Tensaiga have the capability to heal and restore life." He looked deep into her eyes. "But it cannot fathom its purpose. It cannot understand its power. It is an object that lives only to suit its function."

Kagome looked at him perplexed.

"Tensaiga has awareness. It is conscious. But it does not fulfill its function on its own. Its power is controlled by my youkai. And with it, I understand the power you control." He unsheathed the living sword and held it for her to see. "I know your powers, for I have witnessed them from you at a young age. I understood them like no other, for it is the power I contain in this sword. Tensaiga is the power that allowed me to subdue you. For your power is the shared power of this sword."

Kagome shook her head. "I… I don't understand."

Sesshomaru held the sword to her. "Touch it."

Kagome bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I'm afraid to."

"Then you fear yourself." He moved the sword closer to her.

Her breath shook and she tentatively reached out and graced her fingers on the shaft. A pulse of energy erupted around her, the sword and Sesshomaru as power withdrew from the sword into her. She shut her eyes as voices filled her head and emotions filled her heart. She quickly let go and jumped back. "What is that!"

The demon lord sheathed Tensaiga and again returned it to his side. "A thousand lifetimes of being. This sword contains the power to see the border between life and death. What you had just witnessed was that border."

Kagome's hand flexed, tingling from when she touched the sword. "What did it do to me?"

"It recognized you."

"What?"

"You, like Tensaiga, walk on the border of life. The only difference is that you do not pass beyond it. Yet your power far surpasses that of Tensaiga." He looked at her intently.

She shook her head. "No. You said so yourself. I cannot pass the border. I cannot bring others back to life."

Sesshomaru's face hardened faintly. "I said you do not pass. Whether you can or not is up to you to find out. Tensaiga only manipulates the power because it can destroy the messengers that can pass beyond the borders. You, on the other hand, go beyond manipulation. You can stop them from crossing at all."

"How do you know this?" Kagome whispered.

"Tensaiga told me. It can see you as you see all of us. We are not bodies and minds. To you and Tensaiga, we are living souls. Because of your shared awareness, it knows what you are capable of. And through Tensaiga, I know what you are capable of."

"Then you have no reason to fear me?" She looked hopeful.

"No, Kagome, I have every reason to fear you."

She shot her eyes to his. "But you can subdue me. With Tensaiga."

Sesshomaru shook his head. "Only your vision of life and powers to heal could I mask from you, for they are the power of Tensaiga. It is linked to you in the way that all life is linked to each other. As life is unified in all living things, so to is the Tensaiga unified with you. I had made it conceal from you what you share, but only when you were within my domain could I do so."

Kagome's body began to shudder. "Then how was… why did you think Inu… InuYasha could be able to…?"

Sesshomaru's face turned dark. "That is something that took great power to employ."

"Otou?"

"The fangs that hang on the rosary are my own. And my own powers sanction it. However, the rosary did as I had not expected."

"What?" She frowned.

"It linked you both."

Kagome nodded. "Yes, you said it bound us so we could subdue each other…."

Sesshomaru's eyes grew a cold amber. "No. That was our intention. That is not what it did."

Kagome tilted her head. She grew frightened.

"The miko had warned me of the possibility. Had I believed it was possible or not, it was, however, the only way." He flashed his eyes down to hers.

"Kikyo told you… told you what?" Kagome asked shakily.

"Like my father had done for InuYasha, I had forged my powers as a means to suppress. Because of our shared youkai blood by our father, the rosary would subdue InuYasha's powers much like the Tetsusaiga. This would be possible since my youkai is stronger, being of the full blood line, thus it would dominate that of my brother's. The rosary was also to serve to contain your true powers. It was my link to you that would allow that to occur."

Kagome cast her gaze to the fire. "We… we have a link? But I am not your true daughter. I am not of your blood."

Sesshomaru shook his head. "No, but you did bind your soul to my own."

Her head swung towards him, her eyes wide.

"The moment I had picked you up from the remains of your village, you inadvertently bound your safety and life to me. Your powers chose me as your protector. My aura, my powers, instinctively became tied to yours, and it could not be broken. It was that link that caused the rosary to act as it did." He studied her. "My youkai overpowered that of my half brother's, bringing his youkai into the rosary. And my soul did the same to you. As your protector, it dominated your powers and drew them into the rosary. But it was within the rosary that our link was finally severed."

Kagome swallowed. "Go… go on."

"I had given up my status as your protector when I had given you to InuYasha. My soul and youkai honour knew this and would have relinquished it to InuYasha. He would then have become your protector, and his youkai would attempt to protect you as mine had. But it did not. It was this that perplexed me."

Kagome looked anywhere but at him. "But now you know?"

Sesshomaru nodded. "Yes. This is what the miko had warned me about. Kikyo had stated that this could have occurred had your soul bound itself differently when you had first met InuYasha."

Kagome shook her head. "I do… don't understand."

Sesshomaru growled. "The hanyou was to be your protector. That was my intention when I had given you to him. I was unaware of the emotional ties you both have shared. Too late had I realized, and already the rosary was instilled to you both." He turned to her so that her focus had to be on him. "His youkai did not see you as his charge. He saw you as his mate. Your soul did not see him as your protector, your soul saw him as your core. With that, the powers did not control each other, but combined. You and he are now one."

Kagome stumbled back. "For… for how long?"

Sesshomaru studied her. "For as long as you bind yourself to him."

Kagome swallowed. "I… didn't know I had."

Sesshomaru tilted his head in acknowledgement. "How could you have, when you did not know you could?"

She looked around the room. "What… exactly did I do… to you… to him?"

"That I am unsure." The lord walked to the fire. "For what your powers decide to do, all others have no choice but to obey."

"Then my soul wanted you to raise me, and you had to? My soul wanted him as a mate? And he… had no choice but to feel that way about me? You both had no choice?" Kagome paled.

"Whether that is the case or not, I feel it was my free will that allowed you to do so. Even now, our link is dissolved, and I still consider you my own. As for InuYasha, I am not aware his motives from the start, but his youkai would not bind you so readily to him if there were nothing there from the beginning. You are still his mate regardless."

Kagome lowered her head. "He does not see me as his mate any longer."

She jumped back with the snarl that erupted from the demon lord. "If that is what you think, you are as foolish as he is."

Kagome looked up angrily. "I… I… feel it! He shut himself away from me and I felt his hatred. Even now he is closed from me."

"But you still feel him." Sesshomaru growled.

Kagome looked away from his penetrating gaze. "No. I don't."

"Why do you lie?" He pulled her chin to look up at him. "The pain you feel. The bitter brokenness. You do not feel that?"

Kagome looked at him shocked. "How do you know this?"

His eyes narrowed. "This, Sesshomaru, knows." With that he turned from her and walked out of the Hall, leaving two stunned innocents watching him go.

The next morning the snow fell in soft flakes. Kagome sat against a stone banister and watched it gather around her. Beyond was the training field. Inu and wolf youkai competed in games of strength and stamina. Several young youkai tried to get her attention by throwing snow balls in her direction, but she did not notice. It was not until a shadow passed over her did she finally look up.

"Kouga." She smiled faintly.

Kouga crouched to look level at her, his eyes remorseful. "Kagome, I…."

Kagome shook her head. "You were following my father's orders. I know that now."

"No, I mean…." He cringed and whispered. "I mean, about what I did during that."

Kagome blushed. "Kouga, you're my best friend, please understand…."

Kouga shook his head. "No, Kagome, a lot has happened since you've been gone." He sighed. "I just got possessive, is all, we have a history, you're my best friend and… Kagome, I'm promised to Ayame."

Kagome shot her eyes to his. "What? Really? How? When?"

Kouga smiled. "Yeah, she's really great. Massive temper, but she's feisty as you are. And… well… she's…."

"Yours?" Kagome smiled.

Kouga looked at her and grinned. She always managed to understand him no matter what. "Mine." He agreed. "So… you forgive me?"

Kagome smiled. "Kouga, what are friends for?"

He smiled and looked a bit shy.

Kagome stood and he followed suite. They began to walk together along the paths of the manor, chatting and laughing over little things that had gone on while she was gone, or things they remembered them doing when they were children.

"Ayame's very lucky to finally have snagged the great Kouga." Kagome grinned as she leaned against the manor's wall.

The wolf youkai grinned. "Yeah, she's pretty fast if she could catch me."

Kagome laughed. "So next summer, will I be seeing any pups?"

Kouga blushed. "I dunno. Yeah, maybe."

Kagome laughed. She felt genuinely happy as she looked up at him. She hugged him. "I'm very happy, Kouga, for the both of you."

A loud growl shook the air around them. Kagome turned to see an enraged hanyou storm over to them. Kagome looked up at Kouga and she groaned.

"InuYasha…." She started to reason.

"Shut the fuck up!" He snarled and charged the wolf demon. "I'm giving you a head start before I kill you. Now run."

Kouga smirked. "Dog shit. Still a pup I see. Maybe I can show you how to get things done."

Kagome's mouth dropped and she rounded on Kouga. "I don't give a shit if it's male posturing or not. That was uncalled for! Now get the fuck out of here or Ayame will be having pups from another since you won't have the balls to even mount her!"

Kouga paled at the rejoinder Kagome unleashed. His mouth dropped and he was about to complain until he saw the exasperated look on her face. He smirked and winked at her and ran off towards the training field.

Kagome sighed and turned to InuYasha. " As for you…."

Her words were wrenched out of her when his clawed hand grabbed her arm and hoisted her over his shoulder. He leapt out and over the manor's outer walls to the small forest beside it. He pushed her off his shoulder onto the snow rather harshly.

Kagome landed on her rear hard. She glared up at him angrily but paled at the red she saw flickering in his eyes. "InuYasha?"

He snarled. "You smell of him."

Kagome's mouth dropped. She sniffed herself and frowned. She didn't smell anything unusual. Before she could protest, he grabbed her and began to rub snow all over her clothes and face. He growled profusely.

Kagome sputtered as snow got in her mouth. "InuYasha, what the hell? He's mated to Ayame now. He's not a threat to you."

InuYasha stalled but then continued to rub snow on her, harder this time.

She tried to push him away, ignoring his snarling protests. "Why the fuck do you care anyways? You said I was nothing to you! You're just around to protect me! You hate me, remember?"

InuYasha growled in fury and pushed her hard on the ground. He towered over her. "You're right, Bitch. Why am I caring? It's not like I know who or even what the fuck you are. All I know is that what we had…means nothing…." He turned and walked away.

Kagome jumped up. "What do you mean nothing? How can you say that?"

He turned to her, his eyes burning her with malice. "It's just what you are. It's how you protect yourself."

Kagome's face grew red from her fury. "And what am I?"

InuYasha walked slowly to her. His face was hard and a spiteful leer spread across it. "You… are a thing."

Kagome stepped back in shock.

"A thing that makes those around you feel they need you, want you, have to protect you and love you. You are a lie."

Tears erupted from the back of her eyes, and she fought hard to keep them from falling. "Why are you saying this?" She rasped in disbelief.

"Because. Who in their right mind would love a girl the moment he saw her? Who would cast all to the side and claim her as his mate the day he met her? Who would challenge his enemy and give everything he had to him to win this girl? Who would take this girl and want her still after she constantly tore him down over and over, never once letting him know the very power she possessed. Only someone who was manipulated and controlled by a damned miko child who can't even keep her own two feet on the ground." He towered over her again. "Well, your control over me has ended, Bitch."

"I… I don't…understand." Kagome backed up from him.

He followed closely. "I heard enough yesterday. I know enough of what you can do. You can control auras. You can manipulate my aura to bring me at ease. Hell, you even joined your soul to the greatest demon lord around so he would raise you, and you were an orphaned whelp close to death when you did that. I even know your soul made me want to mate you."

Kagome's back collided with a tree. She looked up at him. "You heard what he told me last night?"

"Enough. Enough that I can't totally blame you." InuYasha turned his face down and pressed his body close to hers. "You can't help what you are. You can't help that your soul controls those around you. It's what you do. It's what you are. And now some abomination wants to take you and suck you dry to become some master demon. Well, let me just say, you're like a package tied all up in pretty string, just waiting to be taken."

Kagome's breath hitched in her throat. "No… I won't…."

"Be taken?" InuYasha chuckled. "Oh how I am sick of hearing that."

Tears streamed down her face and she bit back. "Then why are you here? Go home! What's it to you what happens to me?"

InuYasha growled fiercely in her ear. "Stop crying."

Kagome shook her head, fighting hard against the tears and losing horribly. "Go home, if that is what you want, InuYasha!"

He thrusted up against her body. "And that's what pisses me off most. I can't go. I don't know why. Honour bound or not. I WANT to protect you. I NEED to protect you. So tell me, Kagome, why do I feel this?"

Kagome's chest heaved in tormented breaths. "I don't know…."

He snarled hotly in her ear. "Don't you?"

"I'm not doing anything! I swear!" Kagome sobbed against his hot chest.

InuYasha grabbed her and crushed her hard against him. "Stop crying!"

Kagome tried to push him off her but he held strong. "I swear I'm not doing anything." She whispered.

InuYasha's claws dug into her back. "How can I believe you? After all that you've kept from me?"

Kagome yelled out in pain. "I was afraid! I thought you would push me away. I thought you would think I was… was a …freak!" She sobbed from pain, both physical and emotional, both from her and from him.

InuYasha's mouth swept over her neck. He nipped at it. "How easily this can be ended. How easily you can be ended."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Don't… please don't."

InuYasha growled against her throat, his fangs skimming down her life vein. "What are you afraid of? You can push me away so easily. Why don't you use your powers?"

Kagome swallowed. "I can't…."

"Hmm…right, the necklace. You're afraid of what will happen to you." He lifted his face to stare mockingly into her tear stained eyes.

Kagome stared wide-eyed into his. "No." She said. "I'm afraid what will happen… to you."

His eyes turned liquid hot. "And why do you care what will happen to me? After all this bloody time, why do you care?"

Kagome shook her head. "I…."

InuYasha shook her slightly. "Tell me for once in your gods damned life!"

Kagome gripped his shoulders hard trying to push him away. "You hate me…." She whispered.

"TELL ME!" He twined his fingers into her dark hair and thrusted her face up to look at his.

Kagome's mouth opened in aching appeal and her eyes again filled with hot tears. "Because…." Her voice broke.

"Because?" He gripped her head harder with her hair. "For the love of all gods, please tell me!"

Kagome's tears flowed heavily. Never taking her eyes from his, she choked. "Because… I love you."

InuYasha crashed his mouth down hard on hers and kissed her until her mouth was tender and bruised. He let her go roughly and turned on his heal and leapt to the trees and she lost sight of him.


	23. Chapter 23

It was after dark when Kikyo found her sitting hunched against a tree in the small woods outside the manor walls. She looked around and found the girl to be alone, though footprints in the snow showed she was not alone for the whole time. Kikyo frowned.

"Kagome, you know it is not safe for you to be out here."

Kagome slowly lifted her face to look up at the miko. Her face was pale and her violet eyes, which had returned to that colour when her powers finally surfaced, were light, almost to the verge of lilac. She seemed to be drained of colour and life.

Kikyo looked at her in stoical concern. "What has happened?"

Kagome blinked heavily and looked down to the snow, now blue from the cold night moon. Her voice was low and monotone when she finally answered. In the heavy silence of the dark her voice sent chills down the miko's back. "Why do you protect me?"

Kikyo stood stunned. "Kagome?"

The girl's head swayed from side to side. "Why do you protect me? I am not human. I…am…." She looked up at Kikyo and grinned in exhausted defeat. "I am a thing."

Kikyo frowned. "Kagome, do not ever speak that way."

Kagome smirked and rested her head against the tree behind her, her eyes cast down. "Only a thing could do all that. Only a thing could do it without ever even knowing. It was my purpose. It was my function. I did it all, and for what… for my own protection?" She dragged her eyes up tiredly at Kikyo. "Nothing human could do all that I have done."

"Kagome, you are more than human, and you had to be protected. What has been done was for that reason and you cannot blame yourself for what you could not control." Kikyo frowned.

"And that's just it. Something I could not control. But I still did it, whether I knew it or not. Yes, there was that reason. My protection. But from all that I have heard, it was never consenting. I made you all feel like it had to be done. I now know why." Kagome's eyes looked distant and hollow. "I had wondered, especially since it was unknowingly, why my powers insisted on manipulating those around me. And why only two did they bind to me. I mean my powers could have chosen you, or Rin or anyone. But they didn't. They chose Sesshomaru and InuYasha. But why? Then I realized… they were the most powerful, and I needed them to protect me. I must have known I needed to protect myself from him. I destroyed my own village because he was there. I manipulated Sesshomaru to take me in, to hide me from him. When Sesshomaru could no longer suit that purpose, I made InuYasha want me in order to protect me from him. But it did me no good. He found me."

Kikyo stood over the girl. "You know this is not true. You had no control over what had happened…."

Kagome laughed bitterly. "And that's why it makes so much sense." She turned her drained eyes up to her sensei. "I had no control, but my powers did. Why would I destroy my entire village? Do you think I would kill everything just because I watched my mother die? I could have just killed the creatures that murdered her. Maybe I could have just killed the army. But I didn't. I killed them all. Every… single…one of them." She dragged her eyes away to stare blankly ahead. "Why? Because I was not going to take any chances of him taking me."

"Kagome, that is not right, your powers were only just developing… it was an accident… we cannot even be sure it was…."

"It was me… all of it, whether I knew how to or not." The girl's face turned cold. "I have thought about it, and it is the only true connection. Think about it, Kikyo. Why would you and Sesshomaru try so hard to hide me from it and tried to protect me from it? No matter what you did, my powers still were in control. They were the reason why all this had happened. No, just listen…." Kagome sensed the woman above her was about to refute. "Whether it was uncontrolled or not… it does not stop the fact that they were all killed. But I knew he was still alive. Somehow, I knew. Why else would I make Sesshomaru want to take me in? Why would I make the most powerful demon want to raise me? I could have been adopted by anyone. I could have just lain there to die, but I didn't. I can't think it coincidence that you and Sesshomaru found me. I must have done something. And talking to Sesshomaru, I did. I bound his soul to my own. I gave him no choice. He felt compelled to raise me and protect me. And when he could no longer do that, he felt compelled to find someone who could. I could have just stayed with Sesshomaru, or I could have just been InuYasha's prisoner. Instead, I made… I made him love me. I bound him to me as I did Sesshomaru. He is now the one who must protect me. But like all of you, he had no choice… he has no choice." Kagome looked up at Kikyo. "But I will no longer allow it. Naraku knows where I am. There is nothing any of you can do now. So I ask. Why do you protect me?"

Kikyo's face turned dark. "Because whether or not it was your powers that compelled us, it was our will that allowed it. You must understand that your powers are not by design able to make others do as you command. Instead it opens us to see how much better thingscan be, and from it how important your survival is."

Kagome looked down and shook her head. "My survival. What good is my survival? Seeing auras? Mind control? What is it you have to protect?"

"We must keep you from Naraku. If he were to take you, he could become indestructible. And all else would be under his mercy." Kikyo replied.

Kagome nodded. "Right… again, Naraku, the one constant in everything. He is the one reason why all this had happened, why I felt the need to use you all. All of this just to keep me alive and away from him. Midoriko had it right. Destroy herself before she could be taken." Kagome looked out into the trees. "Yes, how easily it can all be ended."

Kikyo grabbed her harshly and gave her a quick shake. "You naïve little child. You have no idea the powers you control. You have no idea the pains that have been taken to keep you safe. You have no idea the outcome of what could happen if we let Naraku take you."

Kagome stared up in shock at her mentor then anger. "What control! What powers did I ever control? If anything I am just a shell for these powers to use! Don't you get it! I am a thing, this Shikon no Tama. I used all of you! I made you need to keep me safe! I made you feel I was something that needed to be protected! I am just the thing that holds all of you to suit my own needs. There is nothing in me that deserves to be saved. And whether or not Naraku takes me, already my fate is sealed. I am already dead, if ever I was alive. So why bother to protect me? Our only option is to just get rid of the powers by getting rid of me, then Naraku would no longer hunt for me, then no one will be… will be bound to me." Kagome hung her head.

"Kagome…." Kikyo sighed. "Yes, you are no ordinary human. But you are human, one with a great gift, and great responsibility. And it was our folly to keep it from you. It was our fear that made us hide it from you, it was our inadequacies that made us unable to train you, and it was our love that wanted to protect you." Kikyo sat beside the young woman and wrapped an arm around her. "When we found you, you were a small child close to death. I remember great power growing in you that I could not, even to this day, comprehend the magnitude. Where any could have left you, one did not. You did not force him to pick you up, you did not force him to place you in his mate's arms, you did not force him to teach you and love you. He chose to be your father. All you did was show him he should not be without you, and it was not your powers, it was you…. As for InuYasha…."

Kagome held her breath.

Kikyo leaned back onto the tree and looked up. "I do not know what had transpired between you two, but no power can force love from another. Contrary to what you think your power could do, it can only channel what is already there. It does not create, it does not destroy. It just brings what needs to be brought out to light. You may have bound your soul without knowledge, but we also bound our souls to you by choice, and no one but ourselves could do that. Your powers could not make us feel love for you, nor could they bind us against our free will. Your powers were only the link that combined us to you, and that is the only thing you did."

Kagome choked on a sob. "How can you believe that? How can you believe me to be such an innocent? What about the village…?"

Kikyo's face hardened. "You also forget that you were not the only one in the village. We cannot also rule out that Naraku may have also been the cause. You cannot take the blame for something even we do not know as truth. We only felt your power within the village, and assumed it was the cause. But now, with the awareness of Naraku and his abilities, we cannot be so sure. I am sorry for that as well. We did not understand your powers, and had assumed too much without true cause. It was not until your powers came to light did we truly see what you were, and none of it was evil." Kikyo cast her gaze over to the girl. "We had forgotten the very thing we had taught you. Do not ever take what is said or done for face value, for truth is revealed in many levels. All it takes is the patience and strength to open oneself to find it. And we neglected to do so. We are sorry. But whatever the case of your past, your powers are here now, and they must be controlled. We will attempt to train you to the best of our abilities."

Kagome rested her head on her knees. "It's too hard. Why can't they just go away? Why did it have to be me? What if the only way to end it all is to end me?"

"Even if you should perish, your powers would still live on. And the demon would again hunt you down in the next child you are born into. Your death is not an option, just a delay of the inevitable. The only way is to destroy Naraku, and end this." Kikyo stood and helped Kagome to stand.

Kagome stared hard at the woman in front of her. "Fight Naraku?"

Kikyo nodded. "Come. It is late, and we have plans to make."

Kagome didn't speak. She felt dejected and withdrawn. Fighting Naraku may be their only option, but deep within, she knew it would not succeed.

In shadows of the trees, InuYasha watched the two women walk into the manor and he followed slowly behind.

The day was heavy with angst. The Great Hall was lined with Sesshomaru's war leaders. Battle defences and strategies were laid out for the expected onslaught of Naraku's forces. The room was thick with talk and arguments as plans were made and messengers were sent.

Kagome watched sedately outside the Great Hall to witness a mass army being pulled together to save one life they didn't even really know.

She wondered if they even knew why they were fighting. She wondered how many lives would be lost because of her. She felt sick. No matter what she could say or do, nothing would persuade Sesshomaru from this assault. She walked away from the mass and headed down the corridor to eventually end up in the estate room.

It was a medium room, lightened by large windows that spanned across the back wall, revealing a view of spacious snow covered ground and grey sky outside. Inside the room several large cushions and mats adorned the floor for guests to relax on. The room was vacant and quiet and warm.

Kagome walked slowly to a window and peered out at the dull day. Even with her spiritual sight, the world looked hollow and listless. It was like an impending doom was prevalent on the horizon. She could feel the creature was near. She could almost hear his voice in her mind. He no longer visited her dreams. He knew who she was and he knew where she was. There was no need for him to seek her out. It was now a waiting game. He was coming for her. And she was bone chillingly terrified.

She had eaten very little in the last few days. She slept little too, not just because she feared the possibility of those dreams, but also because she feared her powers would not stay contained in her. Over the last few days she spent time with Kikyo, channelling her control and understanding the fathoms of her abilities. It took time, but she finally got a grasp on what she was feeling and doing, so much that she was able to activate her capabilities by will, though she was still slow when she applied them. She could also suppress them on her own, but it never stopped her from being anxious that they again may work on their own accord. It was apparent how much it took out of her. Dark circles shadowed under her eyes, drawn out more by her paled skin and light eyes, and her fingers shook uncontrollably. But she would not rest. If anything, she just wanted to disappear into oblivion, taking with her whatever troubles she had caused.

She didn't know how long she stood there. But she had long stopped looking outside. Her mind was never ending with what ifs. _What if 'what ifs' could come true. Then so much would be different. Would I be here? Would I be alive? Would I know InuYasha? Would I be loved? _She blinked softly and slowly. The tears brimming her eyes stung and were terribly hot. She had cried so much over the last few days, she was surprised she had any tears left, or even the strength to shed them.

Her thoughts quickly subsided as she felt a presence behind her. She still did not move from her stance in front of the window. Her eyes never left the cold dread of the outside.

It took some time before she had the voice to speak, and when she did it was achingly soft and alone. "You follow me around in shadow and secret, as if you believe I never know you are there."

A figure moved out of the shadow of the doorway. InuYasha did not speak as he stood a few feet behind her.

His aura was still blocked from her, but she refused to sense it even if he did not keep it from her. She kept her eyes looking out the window as if searching for everything and nothing at once. "You no longer have to stay here."

Again he gave no response.

She turned to him and looked into his guarded eyes. She regarded him carefully. "What ever you feel bound to, I release you from it."

He cast his eyes angrily away, and his hands clenched hard.

Kagome's face showed quiet and sad realization. "Oh right… our souls are…. You can't go." She looked down and bit her lower lip. She thought quietly, finally coming to a conclusion. She nodded. "I think… I can break it."

She closed her eyes and retracted her aura into her self. It was a bit difficult at first since she felt like she was pulling from all around herself, like pulling at the strings of a strong web and she was in the middle. She finally centred on one 'thread' that was connected to InuYasha. She concentrated hard and began to pull at it.

A rush of anxiety, pain, anger, resentment and aching expectation began to absorb into her that it hurt to breath. It felt like she was stripping out her heart; that she was clawing into her chest trying to dig out every last wish and dream she had and trying to kill them. But she kept at it, until a hand grabbed her arm hard and yanked, jolting her out of her severing.

"Stop it!" A guttural voice yelled at her.

Kagome eyes flashed open to look into molten gold. She swayed from the rocking pain she felt from the attempted severing and from the look on his face. He looked agonized and defeated. "Inu… Yasha?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head. His hand still clenched hard on her arm.

Kagome shook. _Did I hurt him? Was I wrong? Can't the connection be broken?_ "InuYasha, I'm sorry, I thought I was breaking…."

"Stop it!" His claws dug into her arm, his eyes shut tight in pain. "Stop all of it."

Kagome looked over him. His faded blue-framed aura flickered uncertainly but there was nothing physically wrong. And she was not doing anything to cause him harm. At least nothing she was aware of. "Oh gods, InuYasha." She rasped. "I'm sorry, I'm not doing… I don't know what's wrong…. I'm sorry… I … I should go…." She struggled in his grip and she whimpered. "Please, let me go."

He shook his head again, harder this time.

She cast her head down and stood limp by him, waiting for him to let her go, so she could finally walk away. So she could finally break it without him stopping her.

"No."

Kagome's ears perked at the soft word. She kept her eyes down, refusing to look at that face again. "What?"

"You will not walk away from me and you will not… break it." His voice was deep and worn out.

Kagome's heart thundered in her chest. _How did he know? Can he still feel me through our link even though he hides from me? _ Her breath shook with each painful intake of air. "Why?" Her voice broke.

He remained silent.

She forced her eyes to look at him. He wasn't looking at her. His face was stern as he gazed at a cushion on the floor. She looked at him confused. "I don't understand…."

His eyes darkened and he scowled, but still he refused to give her any indication as he continued to stare at the cushion.

Kagome's resolve broke and tears again burned her face as she spoke. "I don't understand! I don't know what you want! If you want to be rid of me, then let me break it and you can go. There will be nothing to keep you here!" She struggled in his grasp but he held her arm tight.

He turned to look at her enigmatically. He flicked his eyes up and down her, but still there was nothing.

She struggled harder against his grip. "Please, let me go." She sobbed tiredly. "I don't know what else to do." She stopped fighting as his claws dug deeper, breaking the soft skin under her arm. She let her arm go limp and she sagged her head in defeat. Whispers and tears leaked from under her black cascading hair. "I never knew. I really never knew. I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to…. Please, let me go…. If I could have changed it…. I would give them all up…. I would have wanted you…. I would have loved you no matter what…."

"Shut up." A low growl erupted above her as he yanked her body closer to him.

She refused to look up and she felt the claws tear into her arm. She bit her lip to hide the pain she felt, but it couldn't compare to the turmoil inside her when she saw his tormented face.

"Look at me." His voice was gruff and bitter.

She shook her head.

"Look!" He barked.

She slowly lifted her gaze up to his. He looked dangerous. His lips were peeled back and his fangs were bared. His eyes were flashing yellow in heated attention. His aura blasted over her in animal lust and rage. Her head spun at the onslaught.

"Is this what you want to love?" He snarled and grabbed her other arm, digging his claws into it as well, making her body rise to lean up into him, trying to escape from the pain. "Is this what you want to be bound to?"

"What… why are you doing this?" She reeled back only to have the claws dig in deeper, pushing her harder up to him. She gasped as blood dripped down her arms. Her face could not turn away from his. Her voice hitched in her throat. "I swear I never knew…. I would never have done any of this had I known! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Shut the fuck up!" He shook her slightly. "Fuck who you are! Fuck your powers! Fuck whatever it is that's keeping me here! If it was just you… would you want this!"

Kagome's mouth opened in silent appeal as his grip tightened. She didn't understand what he was saying. She didn't know what he wanted. She wanted to close her eyes but something compelled her to look into his own. They were hard and furious and…. _Never take it at face value… truth is revealed in many levels. _He was searching for her truth. And through his eyes, behind the hurt, betrayal and doubt, was a glint of hope. Kagome's heart thudded hard at her realization. He was terrified that it wasn't real. He was terrified her love wasn't real. This was her last and only chance she could be honest with him. She nodded her head quickly. "Yes," she rasped, "yes, I would want this."

His eyes changed, as if a wall crumbled. Just as quickly his eyes were dark and distrusting, but the glint was brighter. He growled. "You would let these claws tear you? You would let my fangs bite you? You will love the monster in me as it… _breaks_ you?"

Kagome's eyes widened. _Break?_ She trembled under his gaze and apt words. She searched his face. Again his aura was blackened from her sight, and his eyes glowed bright. But there was fear behind his gaze. _He is terrified of his demon side. I never knew! I never knew… that he was so frightened he would lose control. _He was asking if she trusted him. Her eyes grew brave as she looked back at him. "Yes… I would."

He shook her. "No!" He seethed through his teeth. "You can't! You don't understand!" He thrusted them hard onto the cushions on the floor. His body was heavy on top of her, and he pinned her arms and legs so she could not struggle.

Kagome looked up to see him watching her intently. His hair curtained her face and his eyes seemed to be filled with malice. His gaze roved over her and a devilish smirk curled his lips. Her eyes widened again and she lay prone. _What is he doing?_

"Why don't you struggle? Why don't you fight? Why don't you run away? What's wrong? Can't move? Can't blast me away with a thought?" His smirk turned into a vengeful smile. His upper fangs jutted out and she could clearly see how sharp they were. "Would you cringe if I kissed you like I wanted? Would you cry if I scratched your perfect skin? Would you scream if I tore you apart inside just to ease my fucking needs?"

Kagome paled. Her hands clenched involuntarily and she swallowed hard. She desperately searched his eyes, looking for anything that would tell her this was something else. There was revulsion, hatred and lust. She couldn't see anything to tell her otherwise. Her heart pounded furiously and she wanted to scream for help. But as she looked at him did she see he wasn't looking directly at her. His eyes were withdrawn, as if he was thinking hard, as if he was imagining what he just said and he…. Kagome's eyes watered. _He hates…. He hates the thought of it. Then why would he say such things? He hates the idea but he also looks aroused. Why? _Kagome bit her lip. _Unless he unconsciously desires it, but he fears that…. _Her eyes widened, then grew sad and gentle. The tears she was holding back flooded over. _He fears he will hurt me. I remember that feeling, the pain of the power from his demon side. I now know how hard he finds to control it. Like how I found my own powers when we were together. I wonder if he knows I know how he feels. No… how could I possibly? How could I possibly even compare my powers to his? He fights every moment to keep himself in control. He fights the instinct and fury of his youkai strength. I know how overwhelming the lust for blood was. _Kagome winced at the feeling. She felt it that day they fought Naraku. She remembered how much she craved the idea of killing and taking. _No wonder he hates it. No wonder he is afraid. _She lifted her face to study his own. She bit her lip. _If I want him to know that I understand him, there is only one way to prove it to him. I only hope our connection will allow it. _

Kagome looked into his eyes. "InuYasha?"

His attention drew out to focus on her. His eyes flicked over her tear tracked face. His expression was still hard but he looked slightly uncomfortable.

She licked her lips. Her voice was cool and calm though her very being was shaken to the core. "I won't deny you."

His eyes widened in shock then angry denial. "You don't know what you are saying, Bitch."

She jutted her chin up and her eyes turned fierce. "I know exactly what I said. I'm not afraid of you."

He shut his eyes hard and his expression was of self-disgust. "You will be." He growled. His mouth crashed hard onto hers and he kissed her with reckless abandon. He didn't even wait before he delved his tongue violently into her mouth. His lips pressed tight against hers as his tongue ravished her mouth.

Kagome's head swam with confused excitement as she closed her eyes to give in to the moment. She could almost feel what he was feeling, though he was straining to keep his aura contained.

She was not about to be daunted. She flicked his probing tongue with her own, then she bit down on it and sucked on it. She heard him growl above her and his hands left her arms to dig deep into her hair, pulling her lips harder against him, though it wasn't possible. He wrenched his tongue from her hold and nipped at her lower lip in punishment for her sudden control against him, causing it to bleed.

Kagome wanted to flinch from the pain, but held it in check as she licked her bleeding lip. He growled above her mouth as he pressed his lips firmly against her tender one, pushing away her tongue, while sucking, pulling and kneading his teeth on her cut lip. It stung and her eyes unconsciously tightened. But whether or not he noticed, it didn't matter as her hands fisted into his hair. She hiked up a leg around his waist, pulling him harder down on top of her, so that he lay on her. She was feeling wilder, untamed.

He snarled into her mouth at her bold move and his claws dug deeper into her hair, pulling sharply at her dark strands. She hissed and did the unthinkable. She captured his lower lip and bit down hard, and growled back at him.

His eyes opened wide and he lay still for several moments, his lip still held tightly in her mouth. He was panting heavily, trying to keep some semblance of reason, but her brazen manoeuvre was snapping at the last bit of control he had. She didn't know what he was capable of. She didn't know what reckless power he tried to subdue. She had no idea what she would be apart of if she still chose to stay with him. She had to know she was bound to his youkai. She had to know and he had to show her. He cringed. He had to let her know just exactly what he domineered. His body shuddered as he released his youkai.

He raked his claws up her cheeks to hold her head fast, cutting them in the process, as he wrenched his lip from her hold. He bit ravenously at her lips and tongue. He could taste her blood and it was driving him wild. He lapped up as much of her sweet flavour as he could. His tongue licked up the blood of her cut cheeks before moving back to her sore mouth. He growled and moaned with each new taste of her. But what he couldn't get enough of was that she wasn't screaming, she wasn't crying, she wasn't pulling away. Instead, she was biting and sucking and kissing him back. Though she had no fangs or claws, she was still able to keep up with each uncontrolled desire he put on her. _She's not afraid! Why is she not fighting this?_

He grew dizzy and heady with want. Lights danced behind his closed lids and he thought for sure he was seeing through her powers again. He opened his eyes to see he was wrong, his vision was as it should be, but what his other senses told him sent him spiralling. She felt hot, she tasted sweet, her moans flooded his mind, and her scent was spiked with heated wetness. He didn't think he could take it anymore. But the incredible thing was, his youkai was there, but his mind was still unbroken. He had every ounce of control, though he knew his youkai persona had gripped him.

_Why? How was this possible?_

He remembered. The necklace. His red eyes flashed wide open. _Fuck no! The necklace! It means she's absorbing…!_

He tore his mouth from hers and looked down at her. Her face was pink, but there was no sign from where his claws cut her. No marks or welts marred her skin or lips. She had healed instantly with his youkai power. Her eyes were shut, but when he stopped to look down at her she opened them to look up at him. They were dark violet again. She no longer showed signs of weariness or angst. She wasn't hurt. She wasn't in pain. She wasn't without control of either of their powers. She was just… Kagome.

It hit him then and there, how he was terrified over nothing. Where he had thought the necklace would make him weak, or terribly and uncontrollably strong, it had only made them equal, in every possible way. She could withstand his demon side, for she also had his demon side. She could also withstand her own powers… but how? He wasn't seeing anything, he wasn't feeling…. But he was feeling it. He closed his eyes and let her soul flood him with emotion, each of them more wonderful than the last. She loved, she adored, she wanted, she desired and she… needed him. She needed him to feel that way about her too.

This wasn't like the day they first met. When he inexplicably wanted her as his mate. This was not corrupted by the idea that it was false or instinctively forced. This was true. And he finally understood what the others had meant. She did not create or force the emotions on to them, she couldn't have. All she did was let them know she needed them, and they in turn knew that she was needed.

He finally understood. She wanted him to feel that way about her, because she felt that way about him. And he had the choice… he had the free will to give it to her.

He gazed intently down at her. His breathing was laboured and he found it difficult to find his voice. But even as he was able, he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure exactly what it was he wanted to give her.

He closed his eyes. "Kagome… I…."

A cough at the doorway made both of them jump.

InuYasha spun his head around in fierce demonic fury to glare at the one person who would find that moment to butt in.

Kagome gaped. "Miroku?"


	24. Chapter 24

Miroku seemed unfazed by the youkai transformation of his lord as the now full demon snarled up at him from above a very dishevelled Kagome. He grinned down at the both of them, looking at their compromising position with a happy glint in his eye. "Oh, please don't stop on my account. I am sure you would like a monk around to witness this blessed occasion."

InuYasha whipped his head to look down at Kagome and realized that he was still laying on top of her on the floor, his hands tangled in her hair. He jumped up suddenly and stood to face the wall away from the monk. He crossed his arms, hoping to the gods his erection was not apparent, as he willed his youkai side into submission. Thankfully it was much easier now with the necklace. "Feh, fuck off, you lecherous pervert!"

Kagome blinked back heavily, trying to clear her mind after what had just happened, as she quietly stood up beside InuYasha but faced the monk. "Miroku?" Kagome looked at InuYasha who seemed to be back to normal, though he looked massively pissed. She looked back at the monk. So many questions flooded her mind but only one seemed the most easily answered. "What are you doing here?"

Miroku sighed in disappointment then bowed his head in humility. "I had accompanied Lady Sango."

InuYasha spun around and he and Kagome both sputtered. "Sango's here too?"

"Yes," Miroku nodded. "I do believe she is speaking with Lord Sesshomaru, quite forcefully I might add."

Kagome and InuYasha looked at each other in complete confusion and shock, as they hurried out of the room towards the Great Hall. Miroku watched them leave, then looked around the room with a slight sulk on his face, before he followed briskly behind them.

Upon reaching the Hall, all that was seen were war leaders strategizing and planning. Sesshomaru and Sango were nowhere in sight. As for the sound of them, a loud battle cry was heard outside. The war leaders seemed oblivious to the small battle outside the Great Hall. That or they didn't care. Kagome found that odd as InuYasha grabbed her arm and ran to the heavy doors leading outside from the Great Hall.

The sight outside stunned both the young miko and the hanyou, yet the monk watched with an inquisitive tilt of his head.

Sango had just captured her Hiraikotsu and was rounding around Sesshomaru.

The great lord was standing bored in the centre of the yard, an acidic green whip arched from his fingertips. He was watching Sango stoically. Around him were marks of the massive boomerang as it missed its mark, which was obviously the demon lord himself.

Sango let her boomerang go, again her voice echoed across the manor. "Hiraikotsu!"

The large boomerang skidded along the ground towards Sesshomaru who deftly side stepped out of the weapon's path, then back to his original position as the boomerang arched back around towards its mistress.

"Sango, if you are trying to prove your point, it is not succeeding." Sesshomaru didn't even blink as his whip lashed out at her.

InuYasha yelled out and leapt to push her out of the way, but a yellowed blur beat him to it. InuYasha turned to see Sango astride the transformed neko youkai, Kilala. Immediately he jumped out of the way before the poisonous whip struck where he stood.

"InuYasha." Sesshomaru frowned slightly.

Sango turned around and scowled. "InuYasha, butt out!"

The hanyou stood stunned, and then clenched his claws in anger. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, stupid?"

Sango didn't answer as she released the boomerang again. This time the Hiraikotsu arched around the demon lord, causing a backlash of snow to surround Sesshomaru. Kilala followed beside the weapon's path, and was hidden by the wall of snow that erupted upwards. Sango unsheathed her katana and sliced into the snow's barrier towards the demon lord.

Kagome screamed and stretched out her arm as she saw the sword aim for her father. The world seemed to die from her as the dulled sound of the slayer's katana hitting something solid echoed around her. She ran to Sesshomaru, oblivious to the fact that the world had stopped around her. She was unaware her power had blasted Sango off of Kilala, and that the slayer's body hung suspended in midair from her fall. She also did not see that InuYasha and Miroku were in mid run towards the action of the fight.

As she ran to where her adopted father last stood, she witnessed the disrupted snow by the boomerang slowly drift, and then quickly cascade down, as time caught up with itself. The figure of Sesshomaru stood still and unmoving as the snow covered him from its downward fall.

Kagome skidded to a halt before him and gasped. "Otou…?"

Sesshomaru, if he could, seemed annoyed. He brushed the snow off of his clothing.

Kagome walked slowly up to him. "Are you…?"

He looked at her intently. "I see Sango was correct."

Kagome looked him over confused. "Sango?" She turned her head to see Sango being helped up off the ground by Miroku, while InuYasha surveyed them all in shock. Kagome brought her head back to Sesshomaru. "But, she struck you!"

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow. "She did." It was a statement more than a question.

"She… I thought she… I saw her… I heard it hit…." Kagome shook her head. "Are you alright?"

Sesshomaru looked over at Sango. "The question that needs to be asked is if the slayer is well."

Kagome haltingly looked from Sesshomaru to Sango. She was standing between InuYasha and Miroku, brushing snow off of her black armour. "Sango?"

The demon exterminator glanced up and smiled. "Well, it's good to see you have progressed in your Shikon powers."

Kagome and InuYasha gaped. "What!" They both yelled.

"How did you know…?" Kagome rushed.

"What the fuck?" InuYasha quipped.

Sango moved over to stand next to Sesshomaru. "Did it hurt you?"

He shook his head. "No, it was as you said."

Kagome shook her head numbly.

InuYasha threw up his hands. "Just fucking great! Another fucking mystery to deal with!"

Sango frowned. "I see he hasn't changed in my absence."

"He has been a less than hospitable houseguest." Sesshomaru turned to walk towards the manor.

Sango followed behind with Kilala at her side. "He is not easy to live with, but he does have his moments. Give him time."

Sesshomaru just tilted his head in acknowledgement.

InuYasha stood there in shock and then rounded on Miroku. "What the fuck was that about!"

Miroku sighed impatiently. "We have come to train Kagome for this war." With that he jogged after Sango and began chatting with her.

InuYasha looked over at Kagome. She looked back up at him.

In shared confusion they ran after the odd group.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…. Let me get this straight. Do you two know each other?" InuYasha crossed his arms and frowned.

They were all in the observation room in the high tower of the manor. Cushions and a long low table adorned the floor. The table was littered in maps and charts. Large red wooden bookshelves, filled with an assortment of journals, books and texts, covered three of the walls (with the exception of the arched door they had entered) and a massive arched window took up one entire wall.

Sango had immediately sat on a large cushion by the head of the table, and Kilala curled in a tight ball in her lap. Miroku sat beside her. InuYasha made it a point to formidably stand opposite of them across the table to glare down at the two. Kagome wasn't sure what to do so stood away from them all to watch it all transpire.

Sesshomaru also stood, but at the head of the low table. The arched window behind framed him and made him look larger than life. His face was impassive, but his body stood rigid as he listened to his half brother's question. Never breaking eye contact with the hanyou, his eyes narrowed. "Truly, InuYasha, your powers of deduction overwhelm me."

InuYasha growled menacingly. His eyes narrowed in sudden rage as he glared hard at the exterminator. His claws flexed as if ready to shred the girl where she sat. "It was you… you were the fucking spy he told me about!" He lunged at her.

Miroku stood quickly and shielded Sango from InuYasha's attack, bringing down his staff on the hanyou's head and flicking a subduing charm onto his chest.

InuYasha crashed to the floor, unable to move, before even reaching the table they sat across. Profanities and growls bounced off the walls.

"That should hold him for a little while until we can explain what has transpired." Miroku sat again by Sango's side. She smiled shyly back at him.

"Miroku, you slimy shit! Did you have something do to with this too?" InuYasha's voice growled from the stone floor.

Miroku frowned. "I must admit that I was not part of the original plan, but my motives have since changed from understanding the importance of Lady Sango's mission."

"You fucking son of a …."

"InuYasha!" Kagome turned her exasperated gaze down to him on the floor. "Kill them later, after we hear what the hell is going on." She glared at the others angrily. "Now what is going on?"

InuYasha looked up at her stunned, then impressed. Kagome looked scary when she was angry, and it was apparent the others thought so too as they squirmed on the cushions. Well, all but Sesshomaru who ignored the gaze and just stood there like a jackass. The hanyou lay there quietly, though his mind did wander. Images of a monk's head on a pike and a slayer's body burning on a post looked pretty good right now.

Sesshomaru spoke. "The slayer, Sango, has been under my employ since her village was destroyed."

"But that's impossible!" InuYasha snarled. "I found her after she was attacked. Naraku's army came after her and her brother."

Sesshomaru blinked but found it better not to respond as he continued his story. "Naraku had claimed her village as he did many others. The only difference was, her village knew of Naraku, and of the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome glanced over at Sango. "How did you…?"

Sango looked over at Kagome and smiled softly. "My village may not be mentioned in the legend, but our people were." She glanced over at Miroku who nodded his head for her to continue. She turned back to Kagome. "The legend states that during the battle with Midoriko, the demon killed many of the villagers. But those that did survive were scattered among the four winds. My people happened to be the descendants of the few survivors of that battle. With them were memories and stories of that day, as well as a prophecy." She cast her eyes over at Sesshomaru then closed them trying to remember. "In the blackness there was one, a border lined by fate, broken and condemned to life, deigned inside love and hate. Concealed within dark and light, until death's sacrifice taken, the one will now cease to be, but powers will awaken."

"What the fuck does that mean!" A guttural voice emitted from the floor.

"I think it's quite obvious." Miroku pondered. "The Shikon no Tama was forced into a living being. Somehow the powers crossed this border and she became human. Thus she was condemned to life. Because all manner of creatures sought her powers, she was hidden. Yet should one find her, and kill her, her powers will… apparently awaken without her, thus be transferred to the new host. This demon was said to have the ability to absorb powers. It must have also known of the prophecy and had found Midoriko, a human host of the Shikon no Tama. Instead of dying by the demon's hand, and awakening her powers to be absorbed into it, she sacrificed herself to live on. To live on into Kagome."

Sango nodded. "Yes, that is as we had thought as well. We knew the demon of legend was only bound to the hells, not destroyed, by Midoriko. Its powers would only be held in stasis until the birth of the new Jewel. Because of this fact, the reincarnation of the Shikon no Tama would guarantee that the demon would also arise, and again seek her out. Thus we waited and trained until the Jewel was born again. We were finally aware of the existence of the Shikon no Tama fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, so was this Naraku. We were too late to stop the attack. When we had arrived at her village, and saw the carnage, we had thought the worse. That is until the demon started to attack other villages. Our slayers tracked the demon through its warpath and discovered what he called himself… Naraku. His countenance was like that of the demon of the legend, thus we knew the demon had awakened, and truly the Jewel was reborn. Since his powers had not gained, we assumed the Jewel was not discovered. It took my father time, but he had found out that Lord Sesshomaru had visited the village prior our arrival. It was our assumption that should the Jewel be alive, she would have put herself under the protection of the most powerful. It would be here that we would find Kagome."

"And… so you came here?" Kagome looked over at Sesshomaru. What else was there kept from her?

Sango shook her head. "No. By the time we had found out, our village was attacked." She looked over at Kagome. "The story I had told you was true. Kohaku and I were on a minor demon raid. When we returned, we had found our entire village destroyed." Tears brimmed her eyes at the memory. "They had fought hard, but it was no use. All but my brother and I were killed." She wiped her eyes quickly. Miroku placed an arm around her and Kagome was shocked to see her lean into him.

"Then how the fuck did you become my brother's spy!" A bark was heard from the floor.

Sango sighed and pulled out of Miroku's grasp. "My first action was not to go after Naraku. My father was planning to see Sesshomaru, and take my brother and I along. We were trained to be her guardians when we came of age. It was what we were born to do. When we arrived, it was not exactly an expected welcome." She smiled slowly up at Sesshomaru. "It had seemed that Kagome was unaware of her powers, and Sesshomaru had believed they would be contained indefinitely. Our services were not apparently needed. Not in that department. But because we had nowhere to go, and our mission was to protect Kagome, he sent us to be under InuYasha, so we could scout if Naraku had influenced him in any way." She looked over at Kagome. "Kohaku and I were attacked by demons that were attachments of Naraku on our way to the eastern territory. InuYasha did save us from the onslaught, and saved Kohaku, who was close to death. I was very grateful that he had taken care of us and brought us under his charge. I am sorry for abusing your trust, InuYasha, after all that you have done for my brother and myself."

Fierce growling pierced the room. "You fuckers! Then how could you betray me!"

Sango sat up to look past the table to see the hanyou laying on his stomach, his eyes boring into hers. "My intention was not to reveal secrets about you personally, InuYasha. My mission was to infiltrate your lands and find word about Naraku. Until Kagome arrived, there was nothing about you did I send word about."

"Fuck you!" InuYasha snarled. "How can I believe that?"

Sango quirked an eyebrow. "The manor is yours as is your land by birthright. Do you think you would have it if I gave Sesshomaru your plans. Especially since I was the one to help make them?"

Sesshomaru growled slightly. "Yes. How apt of you to do so."

Sango bit her lip and sat back down.

"Keh." InuYasha chuckled unable to see Sesshomaru from his position on the floor. "Bet that just eats you up, eh, big brother?"

Sesshomaru turned slitted eyes down to the prone hanyou on the floor. "Whatever the case may be how you even managed to organize an army under you, let alone lay claim to anything, the matter at hand is Kagome, not your little hovel by the ocean."

"If it's a waste for you, you bastard, why did you want it so bad to fight me for the last fifty years?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "What reasons for our war, you are already aware. And what you are not aware, you do not need to know. The war between us is over. The war of this matter is at hand."

InuYasha scowled and kept quiet. He hated his brother bring right and worse rebuking him at the same time.

Kagome looked over at Sango. "So you knew I was the Shikon no Tama?"

Sango looked at Kagome uncomfortably and nodded.

Kagome looked around, slightly stunned. "And you knew I was coming to stay with InuYasha?"

Sango looked over at Sesshomaru. "Um… no. But I was soon made aware the situation."

"Situation?" Kagome still continued to look anywhere except at Sango.

"The situation of your… mating… with InuYasha, and why." Sango glanced up at Sesshomaru before she looked at Kagome. "I was then to look after you and…."

"And?" Kagome looked down.

"To see if your powers were coming to light. I was trained to know them and recognize them. I must admit, I never knew they would be as strong as they were. But they were there… and they were growing." Sango tilted her head trying will Kagome to look at her.

Kagome shook her head. "I thought you were my friend… I told you everything… I trusted you when I… and all this time… the whole time you… you were…."

"I was protecting you, Kagome." Sango sighed. "That is what I was trained to do at birth. It is what I was destined for the day you were born." She looked up at her and smiled. "We're family, Kagome. I would have done no less for another. But you did not know who or what you were. And it wasn't my place to say." She looked over at Sesshomaru and glared. "Though I would have told you everything had I a choice."

Sesshomaru looked over at Sango. "You have made your point clear, slayer."

"Oh? And what point is that?" InuYasha sneered, though no one looked down to notice.

Sesshomaru was silent and looked over at Kagome.

Sango sighed in decision. "Kagome will have to fight Naraku."

"What!" InuYasha struggled on the ground. "She is not going anywhere near that thing!"

"She has to." Sango shook her head. "Her powers are the only way he can be bound again to the hells."

InuYasha tried hard to push himself off the floor and collapsed on his front again. "Naraku is not going to be bound." He snarled. "He'll be stuck there forever after I kill him!"

"Fighting Naraku is not as easy as it sounds." Sango fumed.

"Yeah, it is!" InuYasha barked. "The bastard hasn't met Tetsusaiga!"

"That is because, InuYasha, its puppet had almost killed you and Kagome before you had a chance to wield our father's sword." Sesshomaru walked around the table to stare down at the half demon. "Sango is correct. Naraku is an adversary that cannot easily be overcome."

"Keh."

Miroku shook his head. "Think about it, InuYasha. Naraku is a creature made up of countless other demons. We do not know the number to his army that he has dominated, nor do we know the powers by each demon he had assimilated. Kagome may be the only reserve we have to defeat him."

InuYasha scowled. "And what makes you think Kagome could be strong enough to get rid of Naraku where two armies of the most powerful demons can't?"

Sango looked over at Sesshomaru. "It was something we were not completely sure of until it was tested." She looked up at Kagome. "Not until we saw what she did while I fought Sesshomaru."

"Yeah, what the fuck was that about?" InuYasha's ears flicked back and forth. "Thought you two were all chums."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Sesshomaru did not believe Kagome's powers were capable of holding a demon of Naraku's magnitude at bay. I believed otherwise. The Shikon's powers in legend are not described at best. Most do not fully know the abilities Kagome can control. Thus we initiated a mock battle to test her." Sango replied.

"That was a little extreme." Kagome blinked. "You don't think you could have filled me in before you made me believe you killed my father?"

Sango grinned slightly. "Then you would have known that we were faking. And you would not have acted as you did. Believing we were in danger made you act on your own instinct, which was incredible all the same."

"Why? What'd she do?" InuYasha tried to look up at them but slumped back down to the ground.

"Kagome stopped the transition of time and space." Sesshomaru looked over at his daughter.

"Geh?" The hanyou tilted his head.

"Kagome inadvertently planted a barrier around the battle, blocking any harm to come to those in it. She also used the barrier to subdue Sango." Miroku replied.

"How the fuck do you know that, monk?" InuYasha barked and clawed the ground as if it would help him stand.

Miroku shrugged. "I watched her do it."

Everyone turned to look at him. InuYasha strained his neck to see him.

Miroku looked relaxed. "Though I am unable to harness such powers, I do have the spiritual knowledge to recognize it. Kagome has phenomenal miasmic powers that should not be taken lightly."

Kagome shook her head. "So… I created a barrier to keep all those in it safe from harm? But what about Sango's katana? I saw it… heard it hit."

Sesshomaru looked to Kagome. "It did, but as I have described, your powers walk the border of life."

Kagome looked at Tensaiga. "Where your powers have the ability to kill the messengers that pass beyond the border. Mine…."

"Can keep them from passing at all." Sesshomaru tilted his head in agreement. "Your barrier kept the slayer's sword from causing me harm, though it did impale me."

InuYasha's eyes perked. "So she can make our armies invincible against Naraku?"

"That will be up to Kagome." Sesshomaru turned to the door.

"Me?" Kagome walked up behind him.

"Yes." Sango stood and followed. "If you let me train you."

Kagome looked at all of them and eventually nodded. "I don't see any other choice I have."

"Then we will begin now." Miroku stood beside Sango and looked at her, grinning.

They followed Sesshomaru out of the room.

"Um…. Can someone get this thing off me? Kagome? Sango? Miroku!"


	25. Chapter 25

"Get off me, you lecher!" Sango cried, trying to simultaneously dislodge a heavy monk off her and wipe her face that was full of snow.

Miroku did not seem to notice as he looked down at her from where he lay on top of her. "Oh Lady Sango…." He winced. "I think I may have broken…."

"Shut up, liar!" Sango rolled on the manor's training ground trying to get him off her.

Kagome ran over to them and pushed the monk off of the slayer and helped her to stand. "Shit! Sorry, Sango! I didn't mean to fling him so far!"

Sango tried to smile but it came out as a pained grimace. "It's okay, Kagome. Maybe we should take another break?" She staggered slowly over to Miroku to help him up.

InuYasha was snickering and had a constant smirk on his face. The rest of the morning and afternoon was like this and he loved every minute of it. Sango and Miroku thought that they should start training Kagome right away, and soon enough found themselves in a position very much like the one they were in now, beaten, bruised and back here they started from.

Kagome glared over at him. "Keep it up, hanyou, because you're next!"

InuYasha bit back his laughter but still smirked at her. "Feh, does this mean that if you use your powers on me, I get to use mine on you?" He flexed his claws slightly.

Kagome blushed at the memory of that morning and her eyes narrowed at him. "You mean your abilities to be a complete ass?"

"No, not those!" He growled and flinched after he realized what he had just said. "Bitch." He muttered and crossed his arms as he looked away.

Kagome stifled a giggle and looked over at her two teachers. Her face fell watching them dust the snow from their clothing, looking very tired. "I'm so sorry."

Both looked over at her surprised.

"Kagome," Sango smiled, "don't apologize. I think I might be using the wrong approach."

Miroku rolled a shoulder and massaged it with his hand. "I agree." He groaned. "We forget we are not just dealing with Kagome here."

Sango blinked. "I never thought of that." She cast her gaze over at the necklace. "Damn."

"Sango?" Kagome looked at the girl's worried expression.

Sango waved her off and smiled slightly. "Just that… they never taught us how to train the Shikon if she has been enhanced by youkai powers. This will take some ingenuity, that's all."

Now Kagome blinked. "This doesn't sound good."

Miroku grinned. "Actually…."

"Miroku… shut it." Sango barked.

The monk just sighed. "Yes, Lady Sango."

"How the fuck did you end up like this, monk?" InuYasha smirked.

Miroku flushed slightly. "Honestly, InuYasha, I have no idea what you are talking about."

InuYasha barked out laughing. "Like such a kept man. Look at you, tied to the slayer's strings."

"Well, at least I don't have a collar." The monk stated simply.

InuYasha flexed his claws. "Oh yeah? Well, I never sided with the enemy because she batted an eyelid!"

"No." Miroku smiled. "You married her."

InuYasha stalled, his mouth wide open but no valid response would come out. "Fuck you!" He crossed his arms and looked away sulkily.

Kagome and Sango watched them stunned, before looking at each other.

"So what do you suggest?" Kagome sighed.

Sango shook her head. "My only suggestion is to use the necklace. Severing the ties is impossible, so the only thing we can do is to get InuYasha to help hone your powers."

Kagome paled and glanced over at InuYasha whose ears were perked in her direction. "Um, Sango… are you sure about this?"

Sango shrugged. "It's his powers too, maybe you have to work together in order for you both to be able to control and manipulate what you two share."

"What?" InuYasha moved to stand by Kagome. "What do you mean by both of us?"

Sango looked over at him. "Exactly that. She uses her Shikon abilities and you use your youkai."

InuYasha growled. "Yeah, Sango, you may not have heard, but the necklace is used to subdue my demon side, not bring it to my beck and call."

"Actually, InuYasha, isn't that what you have been doing?" Kagome bit her lip.

The hanyou looked at her in confused frustration. "No, I never had control of when my youkai side came out."

Kagome shook her head. "Maybe, but you do have control when it does come out."

InuYasha stalled. _She's right. Ever since the necklace, every time I transformed I was still in my own mind. I never lost my reason, but I was still reckless…_. Visions of that morning filled his head. He growled slightly and looked away. "No, I don't have control."

Kagome looked him over and glimpsed over at Miroku and Sango, who were watching them intently, before blushing. "Yes… you do…. You forget that I feel it too…."

InuYasha looked down in thought for several seconds. "It's not safe to do as Sango says."

"No, it's not, nothing about any of this is." Sango frowned. "But it's necessary."

"She is right." Miroku sighed. "And it is not just Kagome's life that is at stake. All of us are in danger if Naraku succeeds."

"InuYasha?" Kagome looked up at him with wide eyes.

He looked up at her and watched her for several moments. "Okay." He said softly before turning uneasily away.

Kagome sighed slightly then turned to Sango. "What do we do?"

Sango looked over at Miroku. "We fight."

Kagome frowned. "What? But how will that…."

Before she could finish the sentence, Miroku knocked Kagome to the ground. His staff was raised over his head as if ready to strike a killing blow. Kagome's eyes widened. "Mir…!"

InuYasha growled and lunged for the monk but was toppled by Sango. InuYasha leapt to his feet and again tried to reach Kagome, who had rolled out of the way to avoid the sweep of Miroku's staff as it hit the ground heavily. Sango was already on the offensive, swinging her boomerang like a giant axe at the hanyou. He kept jumping back to avoid each swing. "Fuck off, Sango!" He roared.

Sango didn't reply, nor did she stop. She swung the boomerang at him and as he dodged it, she lunged her katana out and stabbed him in the chest. InuYasha howled in rage.

Kagome had rolled and stood quickly, looking at Miroku in fright and confusion. "Don't you think there's a better way than…?" She back jumped to narrowly miss a kick and a swing of the now fast twirling staff. She staggered back several feet trying to avoid each swing and punch by the monk. "This is fucking retarded!" She yelled at him. "Miroku, back off!"

InuYasha's howl echoed over the training grounds. Kagome's heart thumped hard as she heaved out a hot breath. "InuYasha…." She gasped.

The hanyou was looking at the blood on his hand that he used to grab his wound, but he felt no pain. From her raspy call, he looked over at Kagome and saw she was clutching her chest in the same spot he was just hit. Her face was pale from pain.

"Kagome!" He jumped over Sango and back kicked her, knocking her face first in to the snow several feet away. He landed behind Miroku and grabbed his robes and flung the monk back towards the slayer. He didn't even look back as he grabbed Kagome and held her close to him. "Kagome." He breathed.

Kagome looked up at him. "I'm alright… just … it hurt…." Her attention was drawn to the monk and exterminator as they both jumped up from their thrown positions and ran towards them. Miroku had ofudas ready to strike, and Sango had let her boomerang go towards them. "No!" Kagome cried and held InuYasha hard, burying her face in his chest.

The giant boomerang and ofudas hit, and were deflected by an invisible force that surrounded the couple. The boomerang was pitched to the side, but the ofudas were burned into ashes.

InuYasha whipped his head to glare at the two feigned attackers. His voice was low and harsh. "What are you trying to prove?"

Sango looked at him and then paled. She gestured her head at their surroundings. "That." She breathed.

Kagome and InuYasha looked at each other than around them.

Kagome frowned. Nothing looked beyond her perception from what she saw at first glance until….

"Whoa." InuYasha blinked.

"What?" Kagome looked at all of them as they each looked all around.

The land was white from a blanket of snow, but once getting used to the brightness of that alone, they could all notice an overlaying soft haze of pure light surrounding every living thing.

"The auras." Sango breathed.

Kagome looked around confused then stopped. "Wait… you all can see it?"

All three nodded, their mouths slightly open.

"How?" Kagome pulled out of InuYasha's now slack embrace.

Nobody said anything for a few moments as they all soaked in what they were seeing.

InuYasha finally spoke. "But it's duller."

They all looked at him.

"Duller?" Miroku was silently watching Sango, a faint pink hue surrounded her and she looked radiant.

InuYasha nodded. "Yeah, the cave was much brighter…." He stopped and pinked slightly, before frowning.

Kagome's cheeks flushed too and she looked down shyly.

"InuYasha?" Sango frowned.

The hanyou growled. "What!"

"You've seen through her eyes before?" Sango tilted her head questionably.

InuYasha looked away uncomfortably. "Yeah, so?"

"And it was brighter?" Miroku grinned. "What were you do… ow!"

Sango flicked her hand from the pain of smacking the monk in the back of his head. "It doesn't matter. What is essential is that we can all see a portion of it now."

"And again," Kagome sighed in exasperation, "how?"

Sango shook her head. "I must admit this wasn't what I was expecting." She glimpsed over at InuYasha. "I was trying to revive your demon side, by placing Kagome in danger. I didn't think she would be the one protecting…." Sango's face lit up. "She created the life shield and was protecting you… but how did she… unless…."

All three watched her, two with confused expressions, the other with a soft grin on his face as they watched the exterminator pace back and forth in thought.

"It was the same with me fighting Sesshomaru… she had the ability, but she didn't know how, and it was a bit reckless and uncontrolled…." Sango muttered. "And it all has to buckle down as to why…."

"Sango?" InuYasha frowned.

She rose up a hand to silence him as she thought. After a few minutes she turned to them, her eyes focusing beyond them as she still thought aloud. "Sesshomaru told me it began when she left the Western Territory, the day InuYasha was to bring her to the manor. They were intimate…."

Kagome and InuYasha flushed and looked away from each other.

"And again, the bath chambers, the stable… Kouga." Sango bit her lower lip. "Each time when she was with him…." She looked around quickly. "No, only when they were alone and…." Her eyes focused on Kagome and InuYasha and a dawning expression filled her face. "Oh gods, I never knew, but it's so obvious. I couldn't just teach you how to use your powers on your whim… they only are a manifestation of what you are." Sango smiled. "And InuYasha is the trigger, not the cause or the effect. He was the reason. His youkai strength is only bonus!"

"Sango, my most cherished." Miroku grinned. "Would you mind elaborating what is on your lovely mind?"

Sango smiled. "All this time we've been looking at it all wrong. Her progression of powers, the unexpected link of the necklace… it wasn't how we thought." Sango looked at each in turn. "Don't you get it? All this time we believed Kagome's powers were kept at bay but in fact they just weren't able to be properly channelled."

"I don't know, dear Sango, Kagome seems to handle her powers quite fine, though a bit eager at times." Miroku grimaced and rubbed his neck.

Sango shook her head. "Those powers are nothing compared to what the Shikon can do. Seeing, healing and forcing auras are powerful, but can be obtained by any full powered miko as long as they have something to channel it in. The Shikon no Tama goes way beyond her miko form. The Shikon transcends that of our mortal plane and draws from the power of life and good itself as a whole, not only through one's self. She has the power of the world in her, and that is what Naraku is trying to take, and that is what Kagome must use."

Kagome paled. "Sango, I don't think that's possible. Use the power of the world? I can't even create the life barrier without coming close to killing someone."

Sango shook her head. "No, that was my mistake. I believed what we all believed. That Sesshomaru subdued you, and when you left his domain they came to light. That may be the case as to why your Shikon powers emerged when they did, but there had to have been a reason why they happened at certain times. If your powers were no longer controlled by Sesshomaru why did they not come to full light?" Sango looked at them all again.

Miroku nodded slightly tying to catch hold of what she was saying. "Yes, that is true, if her powers were no longer contained by Sesshomaru, why did they not appear and stay for the duration she was with us in the Eastern Territory? Why did they only occur at said times? That is an interesting observation, my Lady Sango."

"Yes, you're both smart, now shut up and get to the point." InuYasha growled.

Sango ignored him and frowned in thought. "Sesshomaru had told me her powers would develop once away from the Tensaiga, yet Kagome's powers only seem to grow when she was with InuYasha. It was my observations that convinced him the necklace was the only way to keep her powers contained and to keep your youkai from drawing them out as he believed."

"Whoa, wait, what!" InuYasha growled. "Your observations? My youkai was drawing out her powers? What the fuck!"

Sango nodded quickly still lost in thought and not noticing the fury growing in the hanyou. "Yes, like I told you before. When Kagome came to the manor, it was my job to see what powers were growing in her. I didn't know completely what she was capable of, but I did feel they got stronger every time she was alone with you. I never really agreed to the necklace, but Sesshomaru was adamant. So I told Kouga where to find you, though none of us expected the necklace to react the way it has."

"You fu…." InuYasha snarled but was cut off by Miroku, who moved in front of the hanyou. He waved a subduing charm behind his back for InuYasha to see, warning him to shut up and stay quiet or else.

"My dearest slayer, I am afraid InuYasha was possibly not made aware of the complete motives behind the rosary." The monk stated simply. "It may have been Lord Sesshomaru's intentions to leave that part out."

Sango looked over at the confused couple. "Oh."

"I think that part should be explained." Kagome crossed her arms.

InuYasha just growled as he watched the subduing charm flick back and forth between the monk's hand, hidden from Kagome and Sango but clear in his line of sight.

Sango frowned. "Maybe I should leave that to Sesshomaru."

Kagome shook her head. "Had my father wanted to say, he would have. But whether it was relevant or not, I want to know everything that concerns me and my powers."

Sango sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it's only right." She looked over at Kagome. "After the bath chamber incident, you asked me if InuYasha could manipulate auras. Do you remember that?"

Kagome nodded slowly. "Yes, you said he couldn't. His power was in Tetsusaiga."

Sango nodded again. "You told me you thought you were hallucinating, and I could feel your power had changed. It felt purer, though still denied. Well, after that I made it a point to follow you everywhere. The day you escaped from your room and ran to the stables," the slayer, hanyou and Shikon all blushed, "I… uh… followed behind after InuYasha… and…um…"

"Your… powers… can be quite phenomenal when you want them to be." Miroku grinned like a schoolboy.

"You followed me too!" Kagome paled.

Sango smacked the monk on the back of his head. "You told me you didn't see anything, you pervert!"

Miroku grinned. "I didn't, but I heard and felt enough to know what was happening to Lady Kagome."

Kagome and InuYasha blushed deeper and Sango punched him hard on the arm.

Miroku sighed and rubbed his arm. "And had I not followed you, dear Sango, I would not have found out about your mission, Kagome or the threat of Naraku. And where would you be without me to support you and deny you nothing." He reached out and squeezed her ass and gave it a rub.

Sango's eyes widened and she turned to him, her hand ready to smack him hard but she stalled, thinking. She growled and crossed her arms. "Keh."

Miroku smiled and moved closer to her. "You know, it would pleasure me greatly if you would bear…."

"Miroku, shove your cock in your ass and leave it there for a bit." InuYasha growled. "Sango, you said the bastard thought my youkai was making Kagome's powers come out. Why?"

Sango looked back at Miroku and frowned, before casting her gaze to InuYasha. "Because whenever Kagome and you were alone, her powers grew. I had made this aware to Sesshomaru, and he believed it was your… connection… that was making them progress. More specifically, he had believed it was your demon side feeding off of her Shikon abilities and vice versa, when ever you two… uh… were close." Sango turned to Kagome. "The necklace was to subdue his demon and your Shikon powers, but instead it linked the two of you together."

Kagome nodded. "Yes, that we were made aware of."

Sango sighed. "But what we couldn't completely understand was why it linked you."

Kagome looked at InuYasha from the corner of her eye. "Father said he believed it was because InuYasha's demon side saw me as a mate, and I saw him as my core. Our powers cannot control each other, they can only combine, so that's what the necklace does."

Sango looked thoughtful. "Ah… so maybe Sesshomaru knows, or at least has an idea of what was going on."

"Sango?" Kagome tilted her head.

Sango smiled. "We had it all wrong. InuYasha was not the cause of why your powers came, he was the reason." Sango looked at the hanyou and miko, her smile bright and wide. "The Shikon no Tama is the foundation of all that is good and pure and alive. Her powers can only emerge should she feel the very thing she needs to protect."

"And what is that?" InuYasha growled.

"Love." Sango looked over at him and smiled softly.


	26. Chapter 26

"_Love."_

The word echoed in InuYasha's head. "I…I don't under…." He swallowed hard.

Miroku sighed and closed his eyes. "The process is simple to understand. Lady Kagome's powers only occur when she feels love, and when that love is channelled or in harm, her power emerges to grow from it, or protect it. In either case, when you and Lady Kagome were together, her powers awakened and grew from the miasma of pleasures….GAH!"

Sango placed her boomerang beside her and stepped over the twitching monk. "What the pervert means is that when Kagome felt love for you, and love from you, her powers became more powerful. When she believes her love is harmed, such as when she thought you might have been when we attacked you, her powers would automatically bond to protect those that are in danger." She frowned. "And that means we are in more trouble than we thought."

Kagome looked pale white as she lifted her gaze to Sango. "Why?"

The slayer pressed her hands to her face in exhaustion. "Your power works to protect all you love… how can you expand your power, your love, to include the entire army against Naraku?"

InuYasha growled furiously. "I don't care how you think it gets done. No one touches her!"

A choking sound erupted from the ground as the monk finally stood shakily, rubbing his head. "Not all love needs to be expressed or received physically."

Everyone stopped and stared at Miroku.

"Are you kidding me?" Sango's face dropped.

"Not at all." Miroku smiled. "Love can be expressed in many ways than through pleasures of the body. Love itself is the voice of the heart, and it has many means to make itself known." He looked at the incredulous look on the slayer's face and grinned slyly. "But worry not, my lovely Sango, I will continue to express my love to you as I have always have." He reached his hand towards her.

Sango's mouth shut quickly and her eyes turned fierce as she slapped away his hand. "You keep groping my ass, your head will continue to feel my hand."

Miroku's face lit up and his grin turned devilish. "Then I will make sure your beautiful curves receive as much attention as necessary to guarantee that." He flicked his gaze up her appreciatively.

Sango looked at him confused then gasped. "That is not what I meant and you know it!" Her face pinked hot.

Miroku sighed and feigned hurt. "Alas, it is the burden I must bear, but I will forever delight in any fashion you wish to prove your love for me, even if I end up with a concussion."

Sango crossed her arms in frustration. "Pervert." But her face relaxed and her angry blush turned soft and shy.

"Oh for the love of fu… can we get back on topic here! How is Kagome going to protect thousands of demons and humans against Naraku?" InuYasha shouted and fisted his hands in anger.

Sango settled her gaze on the hanyou and shrugged. "She is going to have to do what she was born to do. Love us all as if we are apart of her, which we all are. That is the only way her power will work to save us all."

A soft crunching of snow caught their attention and all turned to see Kagome kneeling in the ice-capped snow.

"Kagome?" InuYasha quickly kneeled in front of her and held her face to look up at him.

She flicked her eyes up at him and just watched him before she laid her head against his shoulder in utter exhaustion. "I'm scared." She whispered. "I don't know how to… I don't know how to do anything."

InuYasha felt at a complete loss at what to say or do as he held her uncertainly. "Kagome?"

Sango slowly walked over to them and stood over the couple. "You will have to push aside your doubts, your fears, and your hatreds as if they were never there. You will have to look past the ugliness in the darkest part of the heart, and see the light in everything. You will have to love no matter what the nature of the life around you, whether they are innocent children or savage murderers. Since you grew up human, you will have to forget every injustice you have learned to grudge. You will have to forget yourself in order to do this…."

Kagome dragged her gaze to look at the slayer. Her eyes were haunted and dark. "You ask me to forget being human?"

Sango sighed and kneeled down beside them. "Kagome, you have to realize… you are not human."

Kagome's head snapped up to look fully at the slayer in hurt and anger. "How can you…?"

"Kagome, you are not a real human, you are the…." Sango started exasperated.

InuYasha growled. "She is real, Sango. And you will not think otherwise." His eyes narrowed in challenge as he gripped Kagome and held her tight against him.

Kagome rested her head against his chest. "InuYasha," she said softly. His hands pulled her closer to his chest.

Sango sighed. "InuYasha. Kagome has a lifetime of training to accomplish in a day, more if we are lucky. How can you expect her to understand if she doesn't take into account what she is?"

InuYasha growled deeper as he nuzzled his nose in Kagome's hair. "I don't care. I will fight Naraku with or without the help of this Shikon shit. Kagome will have nothing to do with it. She will be far from it if I can help it." He tucked his face further into her hair, breathing her in.

Sango stood up in fury. "InuYasha! You have no idea what you're saying! Kagome is the only way…!" She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Sesshomaru looked at her in mild annoyance. "Sango, Kagome will do what needs to be done when the time comes. She is what she is, and she will do what she must, regardless of any of our wants." He peered down at the girl on the ground. "Kagome, you will not deny what you are, nor is it wise for any of us to do so. When the time comes, you will know what you must do, when you know what it is you are."

Kagome shuddered in InuYasha's arms and peered up to look at her father with tear stained eyes before looking hopelessly to the ground. "I…I am … the Shikon no Tama."

Sesshomaru's amber eyes narrowed. "That is just a name." He turned and walked off towards the manor, indicating all discussion and training was now over.

Sango looked furiously over at InuYasha and picked up her weapons and stormed off. Miroku sighed in defeat and followed after her.

InuYasha quickly stood and looked away uncomfortably from Kagome as she remained on the ground. He turned to walk away. "It's getting dark, we should go in."

"InuYasha?"

He stopped, his back still facing her. "Yeah?"

Kagome stood and looked around as if trying to find other means to focus on until letting her eyes rest on him in sincerity. "Thank you."

He looked stunned as he turned his head towards her. "Huh? What for?"

She cast her gaze to the ground before building her courage to look up at him again. "For telling Sango… that I'm real. I… I can't tell you how much I appreciate…." She cast her eyes down. "Thank you for thinking I'm human."

InuYasha smirked. "Keh, stupid girl… you just are. What else could you be?" With that he walked to the manor, stopping once to wait for her.

She stood quiet for a moment as she watched him walk away. "I just am…and there is nothing else I could be." She whispered sadly and followed.

Her bedroom was dark from shadows cast by the low fire in her fireplace. She couldn't sleep. She didn't even know why she bothered to try. So she just sat and stared at the fire. It was quiet, like a heavy blanket has coated the manor.

No one had spoken during the evening meal. It was morbid, as if it was the last meal. Kagome couldn't eat, nor did InuYasha, who had looked like his plate was the avatar of sorrow. Sango was nowhere to be found and Sesshomaru had left early to scout the soldiers. Miroku tried light talk, but it soon became apparent that no one was in the mood for any sound, since their own minds were flooded with enough torment. Eventually Miroku left, and reluctantly so did InuYasha, leaving Kagome alone to gather her heavy thoughts and head to bed.

Now she sat alone in her room on the floor, gazing at the dancing images of the flames. She wanted the night to last a while longer. The thought of tomorrow made her soul run cold. The inevitable light of a new day seemed cold and dead. She wondered if it was possible to ever feel joy from the dawn again. Was it possible to ever feel safe again?

"Kagome?"

Startled, Kagome turned her gaze from the fire to look towards her bedroom doorway. In the darkness she could see nothing, but smiled sadly as the bright spring green aura glowed before her. "Shippou? Why are you here?"

"Sango got me awhile ago. She said you needed me…." The small kitsune pattered softly into view of the glowing embers. He looked up at the young woman who sat alone in front of it on a large cushion. He rested his tiny hands on her crossed legs and looked up at her face. His large green eyes filled with tears as he slumped dejectedly in front of her. "Kagome, I failed you." He sniffed heavily and sighed out a sob. "I was supposed to protect you and I can't."

Kagome looked at him in quiet contemplation, then gathered him into her arms and held him. "Oh Shippou. You are protecting me. You being here now saves me from my own sadness." She hugged him for a long while as she stared back into the fire.

Shippou clenched his fists into her kimono and snuffled soft whimpers into her shoulder. "I don't…understand… wha… what's going to happen. Sango is so mad, and no one is talking and… I'm scared, Kagome, I'm scared." He hiccupped between gasping sobs.

She held him tighter and shut her eyes hard. She began to rock her body back and forth. "Shippou, oh Shippou. Don't cry. Nothing will happen to you. I will take care of you."

Shippou lifted his face to gaze up at her own, tears flowed in big drops down his face. "I'm not scared…for me. Naraku k…killed my parents, and Sango's and Mir…Miroku's villages, and even yours." His eyes filled again with tears. "Who will make sure nothing happens to them and …and to you?"

Kagome opened her eyes slowly to stare blankly at the fireplace. The fire sparkled dully in her eyes. "I will. I will make sure no one gets hurt."

"The hell you will!" An angry hanyou stormed into the room. "You're getting the hell out of here!" He lifted her by her arms and shook her slightly, making her drop Shippou in shock.

"Inu… InuYasha!" She stuttered.

He set her on her feet and growled down at her. "You are having nothing to do with any of this!"

Kagome looked at him in shock then fury. "You say that like I have a choice! I have to be involved. It's my life that's the cause and it's my self that's the solution!"

InuYasha snarled in retaliation. His fangs were bared and his eyes flashed red within gold. "I don't give a fuck what they told you or what they think you are. No one is putting you in danger. You will be far from the fight as possible!"

Kagome's eyes began to tear in her anger and frustration. "I am the one putting everyone in danger, you idiot! You think it matters where I am? He's been looking for me my whole life! Fuck! He's been looking for the Shikon no Tama for gods know how long! He was killed once before and he's come back. How the fuck do you think anyone is safe! No matter where I am, he'll come for me, and those around me will suffer! This is my life! This is my fight! I can't hide from it!" She broke down and cried, her voice barely audible. "Kami, I can't hide anymore…."

InuYasha closed his eyes and faced toward the fire, his hands clenched hard. "Kagome…." He growled.

"Kagome." Shippou tugged on her kimono. "If you die… if Naraku…." His eyes welled up again. "Kagome, you can't stay, I don't want you to die."

Kagome never responded. Instead, she walked towards her window and stared out at the dying night.

"Kagome…. Fuck, woman! Why are you being so stubborn!" InuYasha stormed over to her and turned her around roughly by her upper arm and stopped short when he saw the grief written over her face. He let go of her arm and cupped her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs. "Kagome…."

She shut her eyes to stop the flow of tears. "I'm sorry, InuYasha. I'm sorry for so many things."

He held his breath for a long moment from the emotions pouring from her and pouring into him. "Why…are you sorry?"

She opened her eyes and he could see the sharp violet ebbed with white light as the dawn peaked over the horizon. Her mouth opened but nothing could come out as she struggled to hold in her tears.

InuYasha closed his eyes and pulled her into a tight embrace. He could feel it all from her, her fears, her doubts, and most of all her regrets. He could feel the heavy weight of the desired life she wanted to live, and the words she wanted to say, things she wished she never did. He embraced it from her, letting her in turn feel his exact emotions in return. "Never feel sorry. Don't you ever feel sorry." He tucked his face into her hair and inhaled her deep, kneading his fingers into her blue-black tresses, the soft ebony beauty he saw the day they met. The day he knew his life began. "Kagome… Gods, Kagome, I…."

"InuYasha?" Her voice was soft and hitched as she held him harder.

He lifted his gaze to look at her. She was looking out the window and then slowly peered up at him. Panic and fear thundered in him and he staggered back from the force of it. "Kagome?"

Her mouth opened as she struggled to breathe. "He's here."

Sango bolted onto Kilala. "Get the wolves on the offensive, where the fuck is Kouga!"

Miroku ran up beside her. "The Inu soldiers are at the gates. They are ready."

Sango looked out at the snow-capped field. "I don't get it. Where is his army? Why is he just standing out there?"

Miroku never responded as his eyes followed her gaze.

Naraku stood alone on the barren tundra, facing the manor. His baboon cloak was the only movement as it buttressed heavily with the bitter wind.

"Something isn't right about this. We have over ten thousand strong. Where are his demons?" Sango clenched her fists into the fire cat's mantle and looked around the barrens.

"Naraku is the army." Sesshomaru stood beside her from seemingly out of nowhere.

Sango looked up at him. "That's impossible. We delegated the army to fight a mass of demons, not just one. This is too simple…."

"It is not. To assume is to be foolish. The truth is under many layers, and the truth lay under his cloak." Sesshomaru flashed his gaze at the multitude behind them. "Where is Kagome?"

Sango and Miroku both peered back.

"She would be with InuYasha… he went to get her early this morning." Miroku frowned.

Sango paled. "Where is InuYasha?"

"Sango! Miroku!"

"Shippou?" Sango frowned as the baby fox came into view from the legs of the inu sentries.

"I tried to keep it a secret! I tried, but InuYasha… he…." Shippou tugged hard on his ears.

"Shippou?" Sango's face grew pale.

"He took her. I don't know where they went, but they're gone!" The fox kit wailed.

Sesshomaru growled in fury. "That idiot!"

At that moment Naraku's head turned sharply to the east and ran swiftly across the barrens that would eventually lead to the forest.

Sesshomaru roared to the throng, and ten thousand bodies swarmed the white-cloaked figure. The war of the Shikon began.


	27. Chapter 27

_He's here._

InuYasha's shock drained the blood from his face as he whipped his gaze out the window. The bitter dark of the growing morning light revealed the snow-covered fields and the frosted barrens beyond, but nothing else was there. "Where is he? I don't see him…." He stopped short as he felt a cold chill sweep over him. A formidable aura was searching the manor. InuYasha spun around to look at Kagome.

She was trembling uncontrollably as she stared out the window.

"Kagome, block it!" He moved quickly and gripped her arms to force her eyes to stare up at him. "Block it! Hide your aura!"

She looked at him stunned, then shut her eyes and gripped his arms that held her tight as she masked herself, feeling him do the same. She shuddered hard as the icy force swept over them and then away. Her eyes opened in horror as it passed over them again, almost settling on them. All of a sudden a massive horn blew around the manor as the army was called for battle. The aura again passed.

She could hear the kitsune whimper in the corner of the room. "What's going on!"

Kagome looked up at InuYasha. Her wide violet eyes searched his amber ones in a silent plea. The terror, the innocence, the instinct of survival hit him hard. He didn't need the connection of the necklace to feel what she was feeling. Her very eyes screamed it to him. Above all, her face was screaming for answers. What was she supposed to do?

InuYasha pulled his hard golden eyes from her face to land fiercely onto the baby kit in the corner. "Shippou! Stay here!" He grabbed Kagome's hand and led her quickly to the door.

"Where are you going!" Shippou scampered to the door and reached for Kagome.

InuYasha snarled. "Damn it, kit! You're safer here! And I'm taking her where she will be safe. Don't cry to anyone!" He yanked Kagome from her room and down the blackened corridor.

"InuYasha?" Kagome choked as she was dragged down the hall. "What are you… we can't!" She struggled only to have InuYasha thrust her against his chest and snarl hotly against her ear.

"I am _not_ leading you out like a lamb to slaughter, no matter what fool thinks you are some sacred jewel! This war is to keep you safe and keep you alive. Sesshomaru told me to get you and to do just that. And I'm going to!" He grabbed her hand again to lead her down the stairs, hiding her in shadow as sentries ran past. He looked down at her fear-tracked face. "Hide yourself."

Kagome looked up at him and reluctantly nodded. She subdued her aura as much as she could though her emotions were in a state of flux, making her concentration hard to keep.

Soon enough he had her outside the manor grounds. He hid her behind his back as he skimmed along the side of the wall of the manor, looking in all directions for scents and sights of the gathering army. He knelt down. "Get on my back."

Kagome looked down at him in denial. "InuYasha, I can't! Sessho…."

InuYasha spun quickly, cupping a clawed hand over her mouth and held her back tight against his chest. "Damn it, woman!" He hissed in her ear. "The bastard told me to get you the fuck out of here if Naraku showed up, and that's what I'm going to do, now get the fuck on my back, now!" He crouched again in front of her.

She looked stunned at his back. _Sesshomaru told him to take me from the manor?_ She looked around quickly before climbing onto his back. She barely had time to get a secure hold on him before he leapt over the outer walls and towards the eastern forests.

InuYasha glided quickly over the terrain, ducking into alcoves and mounds to hide their bodies. He sniffed and scoped around them before running towards another zone. He could sense Naraku's aura scanning the territory for the miko on his back, but it did not seem to acknowledge them as of yet. InuYasha held his breath as he gripped tighter onto Kagome's thighs before bolting for the distant tree line. Within minutes he had reached the forest's border. He crashed heavily through brittle twigs and bushes, trying desperately to be swallowed into the branches of the looming trees.

Kagome hissed as the dry cracked twigs scratched her hands and face. She buried them deeper into his clothing and hair. She could hear the hanyou's heart pound wildly as he recklessly leapt and dodged through the mixed wood terrain. But something was nagging her. Why would Sesshomaru tell InuYasha to take her from the manor? Why would her father go through so much trouble to keep her hidden from Naraku, then when he arrives, have her taken from the manor? The one place that was safe. Was this a ruse? To have Naraku think she was there while InuYasha took her to safety? But if that was the case, why were they so adamant to have her control her powers for the war? None of this was making sense. Was InuYasha lying? He was subduing his aura like she was, so she could not sense him or his motives. Yet she knew something was wrong. Her instincts were screaming for her to run, to let InuYasha take her, but her heart bled cold in her chest. She knew she couldn't run anymore. She had to stay.

She trembled against his back, fighting the nagging doubt that wracked through her, yet it was too strong to ignore. "InuYasha! Stop!"

InuYasha just grunted and leapt over a fallen tree, running as soon as he hit the ground.

"InuYasha! Stop! Now!" Kagome tugged on his shoulders with her clenched fists.

His white ears flicked back in annoyance but he kept running.

Kagome clenched her teeth and shut her eyes as she let go of his shoulders and let her body fall back.

InuYasha spun quickly around. Snow and debris flew up as he did so as he caught her before she hit the ground. "Are you fucking crazy! This is not the time to be fucking around! Come on!" He grabbed her arm to hoist her on his back again.

"No!" Kagome wrenched her arm from his grasp and stumbled back to stand a few feet behind him. "This isn't right! I can't do this!"

InuYasha growled as he turned to face her. "We haven't fucking time to argue about this!"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I can't leave. I don't care what my father told you to do, I can't leave them to fight for me alone!"

"They're not alone, woman! They have ten thousand strong behind them!" He reached for her but she stumbled further from his grasp.

She shook her head. "Don't."

He looked at her in angry confusion.

She sighed shakily as she gazed down at the snow flecked forest floor. "I feel like I've been running for longer than I can remember. And as much as my soul screams for me to run now… I can't!" Kagome ran her fingers through her hair in nervous frustration. "If I run now, I'll be running my whole life. And if he does not take me in this life, he'll try again in the next. I can't do this! I can't live like this! I can't live everyday in terror! I can't live everyday blocking myself from everyone so he can't find me! I can't live never being able to be free to lo…." She looked up at him and her mouth felt dry and her voice cracked. "I can't live that way."

InuYasha's shoulders sagged and he shut his eyes painfully. "But… you'll be alive."

She shook her head sadly. "No… I'll just exist… I won't live."

He looked at her. His eyes that were once filled with domination and power, looked defeated and hopeless. "I'm not taking you back there. I'm not letting them put you on the line against that thing."

Kagome looked at him in angry shock. "You… I was never supposed to leave the manor, was I?"

InuYasha searched her face, and reluctantly shook his head.

Kagome looked numbly around. "Why did you do this? What if he comes after us? What if he kills everyone! What if he already has!" She ran up to him and pounded her fists on his chest and she sobbed in fury. "They said I was the only one who could stop him! And you took me away to leave them there to fight MY fight? You fucking bastard! How could you leave them there to fight without us! Without you! You fucking coward!" She collapsed against his chest and heaved in bitter sobs. "Why…?"

InuYasha stood there in torment. His body stood numbed as it fought both guilt and determination. He lifted his arms heavily as he gripped his claws into her kimono and held her. He lowered his head to breath in her fragile scent. "I had to."

She lifted her head slightly as she swallowed her tears. "You had to?"

InuYasha closed his eyes as he held her tighter. After a few moments he reluctantly opened them to gaze into nothingness. "Kagome…."

She pulled back slightly to look at his face.

He looked sad and tired.

"InuYasha?" She lifted her hand to stroke the side of his face. "Why did you do this?"

He leaned gently into her touch, cupping her hand to stay on his cool cheek. "I know what you are. I know what everyone thinks you are. But… you don't know how to protect us. You don't know how to fight. It would be insane for you to be out there. I don't care what anyone thinks. You're not ready…." He shut his eyes as he held her to his chest once again.

Kagome held her breath at those words. "InuYasha…I…."

He pulled her back slightly to look down at her. His claws gently skimmed through her hair. "I don't care if I have to hide you, and I don't care if I have to protect you every moment of everyday. I made that choice when I agreed to mate you."

Kagome shook her head sadly and looked down. "You can't let your honour govern what is right."

InuYasha frowned. "It's not my honour that decided this… it's…." He looked away disgruntled.

Kagome looked up at him sadly. "My aura? It's making you feel like you… you have to protect me?" She tried to pull from his arms.

He held her tighter. "No."

Kagome stayed silent as she rested her head and hands against his chest, listening to the heavy thump of his heart.

"It's me." He growled softly. "It was always me."

She looked up at his distant face. "What?"

InuYasha sighed and let out a low growl. "They were right… about your connection. I wanted to believe that you just abused your power against me, to get me to … feel for you. But that's not what happened. You never forced me to want to be with you. You… just made me see who you really were." He held her closer. "I spent most of my life alone. I never needed anyone, never wanted anyone. I just became blinded towards everyone, not wanting to know them, not wanting them to know me. Why should I have, when no one wanted me? But you… treated me like… I was… real. I was… real, like you. Your power didn't control me… it just made me…."

Kagome searched his face in worry. "Made you?"

InuYasha looked down into her eyes. "It made me see… see you. No walls, no fears, no nothing… just… you." He searched her eyes for understanding and he growled in slight frustration. "The day I met you, was the day I knew…you…." He sighed. "Understand?"

Kagome slowly shook her head.

InuYasha growled softly. "I don't know how to explain it."

Kagome bit her lips then nodded. "I… I think I do." She looked at her fingers that still rested on his chest. "Like the time I read your soul, in the bath chamber. When I knew how you really felt." She looked up at him. "But how could you have known me the day we met?"

InuYasha shrugged. "I guess that's what everyone meant when they said your powers just show people what's already there. I just knew because your powers wanted me to."

Kagome looked down. "Then why did you hate me, after all that?"

InuYasha let her go and looked away. "Because, when I found out what you were, what your power could do, I thought that what I felt was a lie. I thought maybe you were a lie. I didn't… want to know differently. I felt… betrayed." He looked down at her. "Even though I felt you that time, everything between us was hidden. What was I to believe?"

Kagome nodded. "I know…." She looked up at him. "How can you believe one thing, when everything tells you different." She bit her lip sadly and looked down. "How can you trust another's heart, when you couldn't even trust your own?" She said softly to herself.

InuYasha's ears perked and he turned his head to look down at her. "How could I trust my own heart, when I couldn't trust yours."

Kagome looked up at him. "Is that how you feel now?"

InuYasha looked away in annoyed contemplation. He avoided her gaze and crossed his arms. "I…can't say…."

"Oh." Kagome looked down. "I thought maybe yesterday… I thought I proved to you how I…." She shook her head and looked up at him. Tears filled her eyes. "Is anything different? Is there anything in me that makes you see… me?"

InuYasha flicked his eyes down to the forest floor. He mumbled something incoherent.

"What?" Kagome asked dejectedly.

InuYasha sighed bitterly. "I know how you really feel."

Kagome's face fell from the sour look on his face. She gripped her chest hard as she looked around dumbly. How could he look so contemptuous with the knowledge that she loved him? It rocked her hard like he had torn her heart from her chest.

Her breath shook as she gazed back toward the direction of the manor. The dawn's light had finally stretched over them and a cold winter morning surrounded them. Though light and sleeping life was all around them, Kagome all of a sudden felt empty and drained. "Take me back." She stated numbly.

InuYasha shot his gaze up at her in shock then anger. "Damn it, bitch! I thought I made it clear why I can't!"

Kagome looked back at him in confused sorrow then bitter anger. "All I know is that you think I'm weak and unable to fight. And even though you know how I feel, you think my love is…is nothing to you!" Her anger deflated. "Is that what my love is to you?"

InuYasha grabbed her chin, thrusting her gaze up to his. "Kagome… fuck, Kagome! Your love is everything to me! How can you think it's any less! I'm willing to carry you to the end of the earth, to the boundary of the heavens to keep you with me! Do you honestly think I can live with myself if you should be killed? Knowing full well that I could have saved you!"

She looked up at him stunned. "But, you said… you looked…." She shook her head and her voice trembled. "You can't even tell me how you feel about me."

InuYasha exhaled an exhausted laugh that was hollow and heavy before his face grew serious. His molten eyes searched deeply into her twilight ones. "Damn it, Kagome… that's because no words could ever say how I feel."

Kagome's heart jumped as his lips pressed warmly onto hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned against him, feeling his lips move gently against hers in a bittersweet rhythm.

He instinctually moaned against her mouth as his hands fisted into the back of her kimono, drawing her deeper up against him, surround him with her scent and flavour. Eventually he broke the kiss, sighing shakily against her swollen lips.

He looked down at her and saw everything he'd ever hoped he would see on her face. Such devotion and love he never thought would ever grace him. He closed his eyes in painful desperation and rested his forehead against hers. "Kagome, I can't lose you. You are… everything."

Her breath rushed from her in relief and love. She lifted her face and kissed him softly on his lips.

He moaned as he kissed her back. It was soft and sweet then more desperate. He gathered her up against him tasting her lips and mouth as if it would be his last drink of heaven.

He let go of her lips to catch their breath. He cupped her face with his clawed hands and again rested his forehead against her own. His eyes were shut in need and anguished hopefulness. "Kagome…?"

"Shh… don't speak. Just feel." She whispered.

He nodded and swallowed hard as her whole being, body, soul and mind, answered him.

He groaned in relief and want and again attacked her mouth with a vengeance. He delved his tongue against her soft lips and licked the opening to allow him in once more. She complied with a soft sigh as he flicked his hot tongue against her own, caressing it and tasting it in soft laps and subtle licks. She shyly copied his actions and soon they were exploring each other's flavour in slow succession, trying to remember every curve and dip and taste of their mouths.

InuYasha slowly dragged her to a small grove between some snow capped coniferous trees. Scented pine needles cushioned the ground and kept it dry, and the overhead branches protected the ground from the winter's snow. He ducked into the comfortable copse, pulling her in with him. He laid her gently down on the dry surface, and he rested his body over hers, warming her.

She looked up at him from where she lay to see him silhouetted in the tree spotted daylight. His white hair shone like a halo of light from the winter sun intermingled with the white aura that covered him. He looked down at her with hazy gold eyes. He seemed hesitant and opened his mouth slightly to speak but was silenced as she smiled up at him, tracing her thumb over his lips. Her eyes spoke volumes. She bit her lower lip nervously as she leaned up and kissed him softly, sucking on his lower lip gently and subtly before resting below him, waiting.

He smiled softly and removed his red kariginu and white under kimono, leaving on his hakama. He spread both articles of clothing over himself, creating makeshift blankets to cover them as he lay above her. Making sure she would be covered and comfortable, he looked down into her stormy eyes.

Both looked deeply at each other. Though uncertainty and opposition surrounded them, this was the first time that there was nothing between the both of them. Here it was, just them, their truth, and their love. Here it was finally perfect, if only for the moment. InuYasha smiled tenderly and leaned down to caress her lips with his own, barely touching and sending torrents of pleasure through both of them. His white hair cascaded down around them and she sighed in wonder of the glowing curtain of his soft hair framing their teasing kisses.

InuYasha's hand traced softly over her jaw line, down her neck and arm to finally rest on her waist. He looked down at her as his fingers tugged her obi and the sash opened, loosening her kimono.

Kagome arched her back, pushing her soft chest against him, which caused him to moan heavily as he pulled the obi away. She smiled knowingly and reached up to pull him down on top of her for another long deep kiss. She felt his hands tangle into her hair to pull her lips harder against his own as he took control of the kiss. She moaned huskily into his mouth and could feel his demon heart begin to pound around them. She could also sense his fear as he eased up on the kiss and was about to pull away all together. Instinctively, she lifted her leg to hug his hips tighter against her, making his lower body thrust against her. His hardening desire pulsed at the friction on her mound and his body trembled at the building waves of pleasure she caused in him, relaxing his fears as she readily accepted his growing lust.

His removed his lips from hers and trailed hot licks and sucks along her jaw line and neck, resting on the sensitive juncture of her neck and shoulder. He dragged his tongue up and down the area, tasting her arousing salty, sweet perspiration as her body heated in longing. He traced his tongue down the neckline to rest between her collar bones, where he dipped his tongue into the hollow of her throat, making her gasp and arch her back. He chuckled huskily, his voice deep and guttural.

He moved softly down as he kissed and lapped the sweat between her breasts, moving his hand between the folds of her kimono to rest on her soft, toned stomach, before he slowly moved the folds away to reveal her warm, soft breasts topped by hard copper nipples. He closed his eyes and groaned as he felt his need beat hard between their bodies, begging him to ease the aching pain for release. He wanted it to be slow. He wanted the seconds to pass like hours. He wanted eternity for this perfect moment with her. He opened his eyes to see her watching him in her depths of hazy deep twilight. She arched her back to bring her breasts closer to him, inadvertently causing her thigh to press against his throbbing heat.

He inhaled deep as his mouth captured a cool nub in his mouth and he sucked and flicked his tongue over and around it. He let it go regretfully to lavish her entire breast with deep hot licks around the nipple and into her sensitive curves. His ears flicked forward to hear her pants and moans, and they strained to hear more. He quickly moved to the other breast, playing with the nipple, making it wet and tingly, before lapping up the flavour of her skin around it. His hand traced ever so softly over the flesh of her neglected breast, causing gooseflesh to rise over her flesh, and her nipples tightened more, aching to be touched. His thumb teased and flicked over the nipple he just suckled as he brought his mouth down once more to the breast he last tasted.

Kagome cried out in pleasure and arched her back, pushing against him once again. He growled as his control was slowly breaking. He flicked his tongue hard over one nipple, then the other, grinding his hot need against her thigh. His growls thundered against her sensitive tits, and his claws scratched lightly down her vulnerable sides.

She hissed involuntarily and sighed out a soft moan. Instinctually, his nose twitched and he followed the aroused scent of her heated core. She smelled heavenly. Her musk was sweet and tangy, and her body cried for him to join her. He closed his eyes and his claws dug deep into the forest floor, tearing it up in his struggle to keep control. He breathed deep and rested his forehead against her stomach. Tantric tingles coursed through them as his rosary rested on her mound, adding more to their already joined connections, save one.

He flicked his ear as something tickled it, only for the tickle to be turned into a caress, then a seductive stroke. He leaned his head into her hand so her fingers could rub and pull as much as she desired. Soon his other ear was getting the same treatment and his whole body hummed in pleasure and ease. He nosed between her thighs, and she opened them, allowing him to see the pink flesh of her womanhood. He growled/moaned softly at the sight and dragged his tongue from the untouched opening to the hardened clitoris, lapping up her flavour like it was sweet ice in an unending desert.

She gasped and bucked against his mouth, her hands pulling and rubbing harder on his ears, making his body tremble and pulse. He reached his hands up to pull and massage her nipples, as his tongue flicked up and over her clit, loving each gasp and cry she emitted as he did so. Her wetness got thicker and heavier as well, and he grew greedy. He sucked at the hot nub, easing away when she bucked hard or tugged his hair or ears desperately. He would then lick away her wetness. Desperate for more of her flavour, he thrusted his tongue into her and revelled in its tight embrace. Kagome cried out in shock then pleasure, rocking her hips against his exploring tongue, while pulling and rubbing at his sensitive ears.

Her breath was now soft cries and moans, her body was flushed and pink, and her eyes were closed in dream-like ecstasy. She looked perfect. His own body felt stronger, and he could feel the demon in him coursing though him in waves, but his mind was here, with her. She was keeping him here with her. Kagome, his amazing, beautiful, and powerful woman. She was everything he could ever dream, and she was right here, waiting for him to be with her.

She opened her eyes to look down into his red tinged ones and she smiled in sweet trust and readiness. He crawled up to rest above her again, looking down at her, questioning. She closed her eyes and leaned up to kiss him. She dragged her hands down his sides, to trace the curve of his hips, lowering his hakama in the process. He lifted his hips slightly as her fingers rolled back up and then dipped to the downy soft fur of his need. Her fingers graced the velvet shaft and ran lightly over the sides of his aching balls. He groaned heavily against her mouth, pushing her head back to the ground as he kissed her heatedly. She cupped her hands around his burning manhood, and gently pulled her hands up, releasing him from the confines of his hakama. She stroked her fingers timidly along his shaft's sides making it jump with each caress.

InuYasha pulled his mouth off of hers as he gasped for air with each pulse her sensuous touches caused. His lust filled eyes looked as if they were heavy with auburn honey as he lowered his hips down on hers. Her hands again lifted to his hot tipped ears, gently massaging them as he positioned himself on her. Resting on his elbows above her, he again searched her face. Her deep purple eyes looked trustingly up at him, while her mouth opened slightly as she breathed in ragged pants. Her beauty and her love shook him to the core, making him close his eyes as he felt the tip of him enter her wet core. He shook as he struggled to keep it there and not pound it deep in her like his youkai screamed for. He kissed her again, tenderly and lovingly, as he slowly inched it further in. The tight, hot wetness embraced him, and his eyes flashed open at the realization he was fully in her. He looked down at her in slight panic only to see her biting her lip in pleasure as she grinned happily up at him. She felt no pain. Of course she wouldn't. She had absorbed his youkai as well, but what made him most awed was the deep love she held as she looked at him. There was no fear, no pity, and no regret. She was just….real.

"K…Kagome." InuYasha breathed as he kissed her over and over, thrusting his hips slowly, feeling the wetness coat him.

She moaned in his mouth and delved her fingers into his long tresses, rolling her hips up to meet him, basking in the feel of hot and hard inside of her. His pelvis rubbed harder and faster against her clit as he sped up, thrusting harder and deeper into her. Her face looked as if she was in pain as the dull ache in her pelvis grew, tightening and thundering in her. She opened her eyes and gasped as the copse of trees around them were no longer visible as a blinding white light flowed out of them. She could not see InuYasha, but could feel him all around her and hear him as he panted and moaned. She could feel a sudden change in him. There was a tight pull in his body that matched her own. She could sense he felt it too; the combining of their souls and emotions in one large ball of power that beckoned to break over them. Their auras were flooding out of themselves and into each other and it rushed around them like a celestial fog. She could feel his emotions rock through her, and she never thought it was possible to be loved so deeply, nor did he, as they shared this power beyond all reckoning. Kagome shut her eyes as the combined pull intensified, causing her to arch and thrust against him hard until the pull snapped. She cried out as her energy was pulled from her in all directions, whirling her into the black place she had forgotten. Her only connection to the outside world was from the man above her.

InuYasha gripped the ground hard as the pull of power strained against him, quantifying his pleasure and love. He thrusted and arched his back with her as he felt the power plunge around them. His eyes tightened shut as he felt her tight walls pulse and suck on him. He cried out at the intense feel of it and from the shock as her aura pushed within him in a blast of power, pulling him into a place he never wanted to escape from. He let out a guttural howl as every power within him gushed in repeated pulses from him into the woman below him. With one last thrust he collapsed on Kagome. He panted hard into the nape of her neck, listening to their breathing. Slowly, he lifted his face to look down at his mate's and his eyes widened.

"Ka…gome?"

Her eyes were as violet black as the heavens and she seemed to be looking up to the sky.

InuYasha's ears flicked back and his head whipped behind him as his brother's howl echoed over every part of his domain, and ten thousand voices followed after. The war had begun.

"I have to go back."

InuYasha spun his head to gaze down at Kagome. Her eyes had now focused on him, and she looked… calm.

"Kagome…no…." InuYasha breathed. But he had felt it. Her power. He felt it all along. When he had told her he knew what she felt, this is what he meant, but it was not this intense. And now that she felt it, it meant that she was ready. And he hated it. He hated it because it would take her from him, take her to a place he knew he couldn't follow. "Please," he begged as he tucked his face in the nape of her neck, "no…please no."

Kagome held him tight against her and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes. "I have to."

InuYasha lifted his defeated gaze to look down at her. He wiped his thumbs over the corner of her eyes, drying the tears from her face. Their eyes met, and hearts screamed to the heavens. _One more moment, one more… please, God, one more_.

InuYasha shut his eyes to block the pain of the denial of his request. He nodded and kissed her softly, tenderly and with as much love that he could show, knowing deep within him that this kiss would be their last.


	28. Chapter 28

When InuYasha and Kagome reached the tree line, they saw the Wasteland in its true definition. In the matter of minutes the war began, thousands of bodies were strewn in a butchered mass along the scarred stretch of the barrens. The snow was red from blood or yellowed brown from whatever else was torn from the mutilated bodies.

InuYasha was reluctant to let Kagome off his back, caught between protecting her from the sight, and him letting go of the one semblance of good that was left in this god forsaken scene. Kagome struggled from his grip and slid from his back. She stepped quickly in front of him and then stopped. Her eyes flashed wide and her throat closed over her airway as she looked at the sight in front of her.

Never before had she seen so much blood. Bodies were torn and scattered all around. Blackened blood coagulated around pinked muscle. Browned organs she couldn't even recognize oozed over the jagged slashes and rips that tore these poor souls apart. Moans, cries and gurgled breaths filled her ears. Her senses absorbed more horror in those few seconds than any could have ever see their whole lives.

It was beyond the physical she witnessed. She felt the numbed pain of those who were moments from death. She saw the landscape clouded by violet-black death auras that overshadowed the morning light. She could also hear hisses, growls and heaved screams of the death messengers. She then noticed the little gray imps of the after world crawl over the carnage, licking up blood from raw flesh and tying chains around the dying to drag their poor souls to hell. A few had noticed her, hissing and scampering away from her sight.

She urged a few times, but was unable to vomit. She stumbled back into a heavy chest. She heaved in a strangled gasp and swirled around, wide violet eyes stared up into gold. Her white lips parted in shock. "They… they're… they're…." She shook uncontrollably, unable to move.

InuYasha looked down at her. Even though he couldn't see what she saw, he felt it from it her. Worse, through his own demonic senses, he could smell it. Something powerful had happened here minutes before, though its potency was waning dramatically. Whatever it was, they had to walk through it to find the army. "Come on." He said, his voice as dead as everything around them.

Kagome uneasily took his hand, her own felt like ice within his. She stumbled beside the hanyou as he led her through the carnage. Her eyes kept flicking from horror to horror. A death imp hissed and scratched its claws out at her before squealing and running inside a torn chest cavity. Kagome yelped in fright, skittering more into InuYasha.

He tucked her closer to him, sniffing the air to identify the power's scent. His face grimaced and he gagged slightly. "There are traces of evil miasma. The fuckers never had a chance against its poison." He flicked his head, indicating all the bodies around them. "They were easy to kill when weakened. Let's hope whatever the hell caused it only was able to do it once."

InuYasha frowned as he led her deeper into the Wasteland. _That poison was strong, yet it's fading quickly_. He looked reluctantly down at Kagome and blinked at her fresh scent that seemed to overwhelm the sickly sweet stench around them. She seemed oblivious to the fact that she was neutralizing the air around them as they walked in what was, he was sure, the brunt of the deadly poison.

Kagome clutched his arm harder when she slipped on what she tried to ignore was intestines. She shuddered. "Where are they?"

InuYasha flicked his ears back. "Good question."

Other than the sights and sounds of the dying, there were no signs of anyone else. It was if everyone had just vanished. InuYasha growled. Nothing about this was natural. He gripped Kagome's hand tighter and brought her closer to his back. He went forward a few steps then stopped suddenly. His ears strained as he heard approaching footsteps heading in their direction, and fast!

Hiding Kagome behind him, he unsheathed Tetsusaiga into its fang form, waiting for the creature to come forth. He kept his body still, but his eyes and ears flicked around, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Dust and blowing snow made the horizon hazy, but the gray light of the day made visibility good. Nothing was in sight, though it sounded like the creature was no more than fifty feet away.

InuYasha gripped Tetsusaiga harder. He couldn't even smell the bastard. What the fuck was going on! His muscles clenched, ready to spring when suddenly a wolf demon with gray spiky hair materialized from thin air, running with fear etched on his face, all the while looking behind him.

The demon's mouth tore open in a petrified scream as a tentacle emerged from nowhere, piercing through his chest then pinning his twitching body to the ground. Wrenching itself from the ground and wolf's torso, the tentacle retracted back into the invisible wall, leaving a panting wolf prone on the bloody ground.

The youkai's head jerked heavily while he tried to stare down at the empty void that was now his chest. "Oh….god…." His throat gurgled in bile and blood.

Kagome wrenched her hand from InuYasha's as she ran to the trembling demon. InuYasha reached for her but missed and he growled furiously as he followed after her.

Kagome knelt by the wolf's side, her hands shakily wiping his blood spackled face.

His gray eyes wavered up to look into hers. "Ka… gome?" He sighed in bitter relief, reaching for her hand.

Kagome sobbed as she looked at him struggle to stay alive.

"Kagome… leave him." InuYasha pulled her from the wolf's side.

The demon yelped like a dog in pain. "No! Please! I'm scared! I don't want to die alone!" His cracked voice screamed in desperation. He reached for Kagome, unable to do more than that as his body convulsed.

Kagome stared at him in horror, before she swallowed hard and pulled from InuYasha's grasp once again.

"Kagome…!" InuYasha snarled, but Kagome lifted her hand to silence him.

"Ginta… right?" Kagome knelt down beside him and held his hand.

He nodded shakily before he stared to choke for air. His eyes began to roll in the back of his head and his quick pants turned into pained gasps.

Kagome looked blindly around him, witnessing the death messengers crawling on him, tugging at shreds of his flesh left by the tentacle's wrath. Kagome felt fear and revulsion from the sight of them, then rising anger.

"Stop…." She whispered unsteadily in her numbed shock. She lifted her hand warily to scare away the imps. They scampered off, only to crawl back hesitantly when they saw she wouldn't do much else.

Kagome's anger began to outweigh her fear. She growled. "Go away." She stated more firmly, flicking her hands, and batting at imps that scratched the quivering wolf's body.

A few bit at her fingers, leering at her, making more imps feel brave enough to surround her, laughing in high pitched squeals and snorts. Kagome twisted her head to stare at them in disgusted nervousness as they came closer to her.

Her head whipped around as one imp jumped heavily on the wolf's chest, making him cry out in terror and pain, though he was oblivious to the imp's presence. Kagome's anger peaked as she snatched the imp in her hand and squeezed it hard. It struggled in her grasp, squealing in pain and fear. Several imps jumped onto her, pulling at her in an attempt to distract her, instead it only caused her to be more angered. Her eyes flashed pink as her aura pulsed and her voice echoed over the frozen waste. "I said go!"

The battlefield brightened slightly by her power, and the imps disintegrated around her. High-pitched growls faded until there was nothing left but herself. Ginta breathed in hard, and exhaled in a shuddering wheeze that became gurgled by the blood from his torn lungs.

Kagome blinked heavily and looked down at his chest. She frowned uncertainly. A black haze floated like a fog around his open gut. She bit her lower lip nervously. It was just like the little tree from the beach. Like before, she felt the same desire to touch the blackness. She steadily reached out towards the gaping hole. The blackness pulled towards her fingers as if beckoned and then evaporated into her touch. As the blackness faded, so did the gaping hole in Ginta's chest. Steadily he was able to breath easier, and his eyes grew brighter. Soon all the blackness had melted into her, and Ginta sat up shakily.

His eyes hesitantly looked over to her in awed wonder as his hand idly rubbed his healed chest. "Ka…." He looked down then back up at her in respect. "Lady Kagome." He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "We had thought you were…lost."

InuYasha frowned and crossed his arms. His ears tucked back in guilty annoyance but at the same time his conscience nagged him. If he hadn't have taken her, would she be among the dead?

Kagome closed her eyes, stunned that she could feel the hanyou's emotions so easily now, even though he still blocked his aura from sight. She was certain she could feel him stronger than ever within, now that all their inhibitions had been purged. She looked up at him and smiled slightly. She understood his motives, and in the long run she was grateful, because she was afraid. She felt him and in turn edged him to feel her. Each emotion shared and explained in moments.

InuYasha sighed and his body eased slightly as he looked down at her. His mouth twitched in a slight smile before it evaporated into a stern glower. He looked around uneasily, appearing very much like the warrior lord he was.

Kagome looked back over at Ginta in sadness. "I was… but I'm here now. Tell me, what has happened."

Ginta blinked and looked ahead of him, expecting to see something that clearly wasn't there. He pointed out into the barrens. "We were called for battle. Upon Lord Sesshomaru's call, the wolf pack was set to surround the enemy. But suddenly it looked like he was distracted and he ran for the forest."

Kagome looked up at InuYasha in fright.

InuYasha flicked his ears uneasily in shared understanding. Was it possible that Naraku sensed them while they were…? He shifted uncomfortably.

Kagome's attention was brought back to the nervous wolf demon that was now attempting to stand up.

"We had cut off his path, and surrounded him. He just stood there…like he was waiting." Ginta shut his eyes at the horrific memory.

Kagome stood and placed a hand on his arm. He flinched as his eyes opened in fear. He focused on her and relaxed slightly.

"The inu fighters came up from behind, but then a terrible black cloud erupted from his body! Then everyone started getting sick and then he… he…." Ginta looked all around him and swallowed. His face paled and he nodded his head to the corpses around them.

InuYasha growled. "If that was the case, why aren't you among the dead." He flared his gaze over at Ginta. "You bastard! You ran didn't you? What kind of warrior are you, deserting them in battle!" InuYasha immediately bit his tongue and flinched. _Hadn't he done just that?_ He flicked his gaze over at Kagome. He always stood at the front lines while at war, but his Kagome needed to be safe… that was his first priority.

Kagome looked down shyly from InuYasha's emotions, but her attention was brought back to the timid wolf.

Ginta looked at the hanyou as if for the first time, his eyes widened in fear. "N…no! I was with Kouga! We were with Lord Sesshomaru during the attack!"

Kagome's head jerked up. "Sesshomaru? Where is he? Where is my father!"

Ginta pointed again to the empty barrens. "In there."

InuYasha blinked and then growled. He grabbed Ginta by the scruff. "You fucker, there's nothing here but us!"

Ginta shook his head quickly and struggled in InuYasha's grasp. "N…n…no, Sir! He… it… the thing, Naraku… he put up a barrier as soon as the poison hit. No one could get in or out!" Ginta again looked from where he had come out. "I… I don't know how I managed to get through when no one else could!"

InuYasha sniffed Ginta then followed a scent in the direction the wolf demon had emerged from. He looked around, seeing nothing but the deserted Wasteland and thousands of demonic bodies. He then growled. "Hmm…there is a strange smell over there." He dropped the wolf on the ground and stepped over to the faint wavering scent. He stopped suddenly and growled.

"It's him." InuYasha seethed. "I know that stench anywhere! Naraku!" He charged forward only to be knocked back by a bolt of miasma. The inu hanyou landed hard on his back, briefly stunned.

"InuYasha!" Kagome ran over to him, crouching by him to help him stand.

InuYasha stood up shakily beside her and glowered. "So the wolf was right. There is a barrier." He looked back at the nervous looking demon. "So how did he get through?"

Ginta looked from InuYasha to Kagome. "I… I don't know. No one could get out. Lord Sesshomaru even tried, until…." He swallowed nervously. "Until Naraku transformed. The Lord told me to run, find Lady Kagome. That's what I did. I ran…." He looked at Kagome. "Then I smelt you, and followed you to here, and I somehow got through."

Kagome bit her lower lip and looked at where the barrier supposedly rested. She stepped from InuYasha's side to examine it further. InuYasha grabbed her hand.

"Don't!" The hanyou warned, his worry etched in his words.

Kagome looked back at him and smiled softly, easing him slightly. She let go of his hand and reached out. At first she felt nothing but air, then a faint tingling. She walked forward slightly and kept her hand outstretched until the tingles intensified. The barrier's power made it feel like her hand had fallen asleep. Soon she felt resistance and she looked up, only to see a shimmering wall of blue, gray and indigo emerge. Looking ahead, she squinted, seeing shadows and images fading in and out of her vision. Her eyes flashed wide. "They're alive! I see them in there!"

InuYasha stepped up behind her. "Great, now how the hell do we get in!"

Kagome looked around, examining the barrier. She bit her lip in concentration. "Naraku wants me. He wouldn't place a barrier to keep me out…." She lifted her hands and pressed them against the wall. She could feel the resistance again, and the same numbing tingles on her hands. She shut her eyes and concentrated. Slowly she pushed, feeling the sharp tingles roll up her arms. "Hold on to me." She grimaced.

InuYasha wrapped his arm around her waist, grabbing Ginta by the scruff in the process, making the poor wolf yelp in fright.

Kagome inhaled deep and pushed hard. The sensations coursed through her body, like an electric pulse but then it ceased. The resistance gave way and she fell on her stomach, InuYasha and Ginta on top of her.

She grunted as the air was knocked from her and she looked up in annoyance for the fact the two demons still lay on top of her. She was about to yell at them before the sight and sound around her made all her words stop. They were inside the barrier, and the war was raging.

It sounded almost like a rushing tornado. The air was pitched in howls, shouts, and orders emitted from the war leaders. Screams, growls and whines were retched from the throats of the soldiers. Liquid laced tears, whips and slashes filled whatever gaps the cries of her people left of the silence.

If the sound did not make her sick, it was the sight. Dismembered corpses lay everywhere. Dying soldiers dragged their bodies to dead comrades or screamed for their friends and family who still lived and fought for their lives. They fought for her.

Kagome's mouth opened in pained shock and she was oblivious to herself. She didn't even feel InuYasha push Ginta away and himself stand, pulling her up with him. Her senses were on overload as she took everything in, sights, sounds, smells, and emotions. Her body convulsed as wave after wave of fear, hatred, sorrow and hopelessness filled her. She knew this feeling. Flashes of fire filled sky and terrified panting traced her memories. The images of her mother's face before she was killed were wiped away by a flash of silver before her.

Her throat felt closed off as she struggled to call out to her father. She gripped her hands hard, not realizing they were gripping into InuYasha.

A bright flash of a blade skimmed over a violet tentacle that led up to an enormous mass. Sesshomaru's form followed the blade's path up the extension to the mass's body, tearing the appendage off of it completely. The inu Lord kicked the mass hard, pushing his lithe body into a back flip to land far away from the towering thing.

Kagome looked stunned at her adopted father, then back over to the mass. Her mouth dropped. The mass was actually a mixture of tens of thousands of demon parts, and at the center was a man's head and torso. Her eyes flashed in fear as she looked at the man's face. She knew that face from somewhere, but she didn't know where. His eyes glowed red, and his long brown wavy hair flowed around him like a halo. If it wasn't for the demon conglomeration he was attached to, he may have been considered handsome, that and the fact that his eyes glinted with joyful wrath and unbridled evil.

Kagome's head spun and she staggered forward a bit towards her father, only to be jerked back heavily.

"Kagome! For fuck's sakes snap out of it!"

Kagome gazed up at her mate and she blinked. His face was a mixture of concern, anger and stern confidence. Kagome bit her lip and swallowed. Her throat was dry and her whole body ached. She shook her head, not understanding what was going on.

InuYasha growled and he gripped her arm, forcing her to look only at him. "Don't center on them, center on me! Focus only on me!"

Kagome searched him over and nodded dumbly, her body easing as she shut everyone away and just felt him. Her mind seemed to clear and she was able to look around more ably.

She looked back out at the Wasteland to survey it all again. Everyone was attacking something on the mass, and it seemed every demonic part of it bit, scratched or stung back. Her eyes again looked at Naraku's human body. A few tried to attack that portion, but a barrier shielded him that none could deter.

His face smirked and his eyes widened in malicious joy as his arms snaked out and a mass of spiked tentacles ripped forward towards her father.

Kagome's mouth went automatically dry as she inhaled deep and screamed. "Otou!"

Sesshomaru's head spun quickly at her, then back up to the mass, unable to avoid the tentacles as they came at him. He lunged quickly to the side, but it was of no use, he could not avoid them.

Kagome's hand reached for him, and time stood still. Within those few moments a blinding flash erupted beside her as a wave of intense energy streaked forward, obliterating the tentacles before they reached Sesshomaru.

Kagome's face whipped over to see InuYasha standing there with Tetsusaiga. The blade glowed silver as the remnants of the Wind Scar faded. She stared at InuYasha stunned.

He was panting slightly and his eyes flicked over at her then back at the battle scene. Kagome's power had ceased time, enough for him to unleash Tetsusaiga's power. He didn't have time to think of why he, too, was not suspended in time as it caught up with itself.

Kagome's eyes stared wildly at InuYasha, his sword, the glowing tracks it caused in the field, and then to the crouched form of Sesshomaru. Her father's golden eyes were looking sternly up at the demonic jumble known as Naraku.

A soft chuckle struck her in the bitter silence before everything could catch up with itself.

"Heh heh heh…. It is good to see you showed for our little party. I had begun to worry you had run from me again. And I do tire of the chase, don't you?"

Kagome looked up at those cold blood red eyes. Her terror filled her more deeply than she could ever imagine. The cold of the winter land could not compare to the frigid emotions the mixed demon instilled in her.

"Come, come child, no words to celebrate this day? This is the day you and I will be one." Naraku smiled down at her and before any could react, Kagome was knocked from her feet and flung far from InuYasha.

"Kagome!" InuYasha yelled and he pounced to catch her, but a tentacle collided into him, knocking him in the opposite direction. In those few moments they lost sight of each other.

Kagome hit the ground hard and tumbled a few times before stopping. Her face and hands were skinned and her nose bled profusely. She lifted upper body, but her muscles shook from the sharp pain. Her head turned towards Naraku and her eyes flashed wide in horror as a black fang tipped appendage drove down towards her.

In an instant a silver form stood over her, and the fang struck hard within the demon lord's upper arm. The force of the piercing knocked Sesshomaru back, over Kagome's terror stricken form and into the ground behind her. Her father growled in pain as the venom from the embedded fang seeped into his arm, killing the living flesh the poison seeped into. Looking with fierce hatred at the fang that pinned his arm to the tundra, Sesshomaru hefted his bloody blade and sliced down, severing his arm from his body. He howled in rage and nauseous pain as he rolled away from it.

Kagome spun around and scrambled to get to her father. She skidded to crouch at his side, reaching for his armless stub but he quickly shrugged her away as he sat up. His eyes flashed metallic gold and he stood abruptly, grasping her around the waist, and leapt before the fang pierced where he had just lain.

He landed behind the demon's warped form, suddenly dropping Kagome on her feet. He clutched his bloody stub, and paled in pain. He lifted his hand shakily to see blue black slicked in with his own blood. The poison was in his body. He seethed with fury as his gaze flowed up the massive demon's form. He staggered back, grabbing the front of Kagome's kimono, and flung their bodies to the side before a demon's corpse, ripped from Naraku's body, crashed into the ground before them. Sesshomaru landed on top of her and he struggled to lift his sickened form. His eyes were shut in extreme agony as he pushed himself up with his one arm, growling at himself to get up. His dulled eyes opened to look down at Kagome. "Kagome… move."

Her face was in denial as she watched him weaken under Naraku's poison. A soft sob trembled from her lips and tears streaked down her face. Her father, the pinnacle of strength, grace and glory was dying in front of her. She shook her head not understanding what he was saying.

He shut his eyes and snarled down at her. "Kagome, get up! Get up!"

Kagome looked numbly around and scrambled from under him. He collapsed on the ground, shakily reaching beside him.

Kagome struggled to stand as she watched him draw out Tensaiga. The sword flashed more brilliant than the stars as it sensed the chaotic power around it. Death hung like a shroud in the Wasteland and it glowed like a beckon in the dark.

Sesshomaru glared up at her. "Go! Run! Kagome! RUN!"

Kagome stalled, staring down at her father, then looked around her, not sure what the hell to do. She couldn't leave him there, weak and in the open.

"Kagome!" Her eyes shot down to her father. He lay on his stomach, his eyes red and fangs bared. "Your life is the only thing that can save us! You die by his choice, and all that has happened today will be forfeit! Now do as I say, girl! RUN!" He roared.

Kagome turned and ran, unsure where to go or what to do. Tears blinded her and she refused to look behind her. Instead her mind took in everything else before her. Soldiers fought demons that came out of nowhere. The ground was black from mud and blood, and the sky dark from the death auras. She was so absorbed in her own terrified confusion she didn't see the barbed tentacles pierce down towards her.

"HIRAIKOTSU!"

A giant boomerang studded with purifying sutras obliterated the oncoming assault. Kagome's head shot up to see the Taiji and the monk riding the firecat.

"Sango! Miroku!" Kagome dashed over towards them.

"Kagome! Get back!" Miroku yelled down to her as Sango captured her weapon and Kilala rose in the air to avoid being engulfed in a venomous spray, only to be knocked from the air by an ogre's fist. Sango and Miroku were flung from Kilala's back and crashed hard onto the ground. Kagome could hear a sickening crunch as their bones broke within them. They did not move. A roar above her made her head flash upwards, to see Kilala impaled on an elongated spike.

Kagome's scream was drowned out by another. Kagome darted her violet eyes to her left, to see a red haired wolf demon howl in torment as she cradled a lifeless form to her chest. She rocked back and forth, constantly sweeping blood and hair from the familiar face she held close to her.

Kagome's head swam. "Kouga…."

She stumbled back, tripping over bodies and pieces. She looked around, her violet eyes wide as she saw her father's army fall like shredded leaves. Their terrified screams echoed in her mind. Nothing they did could save them now. They were like meat, slaughtered and hacked for her enemy to feed on. Demons that made Naraku's body gorged on what they killed, leaving pieces of those she knew scattered on her homeland.

Naraku only looked stronger. Nothing the army did fazed him.

Her breath began to heave as she realized in full force she couldn't save them. She didn't know what to do. What the hell was she supposed to do? Her body was feeling the torment and suffering of ten thousand youkai. How the hell was she their savior? How the hell was she the Shikon no Tama, the most powerful force in the world when she couldn't even keep her own two feet on the ground!

She should have ran! She should have ran and had Naraku take her! No one would get killed. No one would be here! She wasn't their savior, she was their murderer! She was killing them all!

She shook her head numbly in denial of what was occurring around her. They fought for her, trusted her to save them, and she was standing there like an idiot! What the hell was she supposed to do!

_Run! _ Sesshomaru's voice echoed in her memory. Her feet stumbled back. _Run!_ She stumbled back faster. _RUN!_ Kagome turned and ran. She had to lure him away, she had to get him away from her people. She ran towards the barrier.

She could hear Naraku turn his horrid body around, ignoring the remnants of the army. He yelled in fury as he watched her run. "You will not escape me again!"

In full force, a mass of demon spawn flowed from him and towards her.

Kagome's chest heaved as she tried to run faster, but she could feel the evil miasma gain on her. In sudden desperate resolve, she turned around, ready to face what came for her. Her mouth dropped as an enormous cloud made up of thousands of demons stretched out for her. Kagome's breath hitched as she barely had time to scream.

"WIND SCAR!"

A backwash of demonic auras pulled Kagome forward, making her fall on her front as the cloud of demons vaporized in a brilliant wave of power.

"Kagome!" InuYasha grabbed her from the ground and lifted her into the air. He gripped her hard against him. A wave of relief filled her to the core, warming away her ice-cold numbness.

Kagome hugged him like a lifeline as he landed roughly on the ground. "InuYasha" She rasped.

He held her tight against him and inhaled her deep before pushing her away slightly. His eyes widened when he saw the cuts on her face and the blood that hid her skin. He growled, tearing his eyes from her to glare at the demon that now pursued them.

"There's no one left…." Kagome spoke softly beside him. No other words could express her agony over what was happening around them as she looked up at him in grief and desperation. InuYasha shut his eyes as waves of her pain flowed in him.

There was no one left. Only he stood between Kagome and her death. Where an army had failed, only he now stood to protect the most precious thing he ever possessed. His heart thundered in his chest as he gazed down at her in agonizing regret and complete love. "There will always be you."

Kagome's heart wrenched at the finality of those words as she realized the implications.

She shook her head. "N… no! NO!" She reached for him but he pushed her to the ground and leapt away from her.

InuYasha looked up at the abomination, Naraku, as he towered above him.

Naraku laughed heavily. "Lord InuYasha, I had hoped to be graced by your presence once more. Too bad it will be fleeting!" Naraku's form heaved as a wave of demons erupted from his body and were cast down toward the hanyou.

"Let's end this!" InuYasha snarled and readied Tetsusaiga for the final blow. The blade pulsed and began to glow red. "BAKURYUUKA!"

In a terrible sweep, the blade flashed like blood-filled lightning, igniting a blast of power none could withstand. The demons vaporized in the intense wave.

Naraku's confident smirk was replaced by a pained scowl. He poured forth more of his demonic forces, which were quickly swept away by the hanyou's sword. Naraku's body kept ejecting the demons that made his hideous form. His eyes widened as he realized the sword was drawing out his power and he could not escape as the red wave engulfed him, obliterating all the demons within him.

Naraku screamed in fury as the barrier around his true body evaporated in the red light of Tetsusaiga. Then there was nothing.

Silence followed as the red wave of energy faded. InuYasha heaved in massive breaths and collapsed onto his knees, his energy spent. Demon parts were littered around him and Naraku was nowhere in sight.

The hanyou blinked heavily as he looked around, not sensing Naraku anywhere.

"InuYasha!"

He toppled over as Kagome plowed into him, hugging his neck tight as she lay on top of him. She shuddered and peeked her eyes to where their enemy once stood.

"Is he…?" She whispered.

InuYasha choked and sat up, pushing her away from his throat and then pulled her up beside him as he stood. Taking her hand, he walked slowly forward, sniffing and listening intently. "I…think so…."

"Heh heh heh…. Stupid hanyou."

InuYasha whirled around to see Naraku in human form directly behind Kagome and himself. He barely registered his violet clothing or the pleasured grimace on his face before Naraku grabbed Kagome from his grasp and jabbed two fingers into InuYasha's throat.

InuYasha's eyes bulged as he grabbed his throat, falling heavily onto his knees. He couldn't breathe, and the painful blackness that coated his hands showed that the miasmic poison was ejected into his body. He reached out for Kagome as she struggled in Naraku's grasp.

Kagome cried out for him, but could not break from the clawed hands that bit into her.

"Watch, my dear, watch as everything you suffered for fades away. This is what you wanted to live for, and this is what you will die for." Naraku's hot breath burned into her ear.

Kagome looked down at InuYasha in desperation. He collapsed onto all fours, still grasping at the blackened blood as it leaked from his jugular. He lifted his head shakily, his eyes red as his demonic side tried to save him. He opened his mouth to call her name, but the poison dripped from his mouth and spilled out onto the ground.

Kagome could feel his youkai begin to pound in her. Her heart screamed as she watched InuYasha struggle. Her breath heaved harder and harder as she felt strong pulses of his youkai energy fill her with righteous rage. Her violet-red eyes lifted to the heavens and she howled, summoning all her energy into the youkai aura that thundered in her.

She could feel Naraku's claws peel into her as the shared auras within her thickened into a prismatic ball, blasting him from her body to land in a crumpled heap half a mile away.

Kagome collapsed on her knees weakly as the youkai strength rapidly faded, clearing her mind of all but one thing. If the strength was fading, it meant….

She spun quickly to see InuYasha sprawled on the ground, his eyes dulled as he seemed to gaze inward. Kagome sobbed and crawled to his side. She reached down to him, attempting to purge the blackness that was forming around him, but it wasn't working. The blackness seemed to envelop her hands and suck her in. Her eyes widened as she felt the warm darkness beckon her into its folds, draining away her life. She wrenched her hands away in terror. Why was it doing that?

InuYasha shuddered as she did so, and the blackness doubled over on him. His eyes looked painfully up at her, begging her to help him. His body began to spasm.

Tears blinded Kagome's eyes as her love's radiant aura was slowly turning a dull indigo. Traces of black swirled into it as Naraku's poison ate away at him.

"Help…." Her voice was strained. It was like a whisper, paralyzed in shock. "Help… help…." She shut her eyes, begging for something in her to give her strength for one last effort. She inhaled deep and screamed, her heartache echoing across the tundra. "InuYasha!"

"The hanyou cannot save you from this existence."

Kagome's head swung to look up at the approaching demon.

Naraku gazed down at her in stoic authority. "It is time you become what you are meant to be."

Kagome's body trembled in fury and her eyes flashed a pale pink. She stood up slowly to face him. "You will never take me."

Naraku raised an eyebrow. "And you will be the one to stop me? Honestly little girl, didn't we play this game before? You and I are but an inevitable."

Kagome shook her head and hissed. "No…. You and I are nothing."

Naraku grinned slightly. "Ah… yes, how right you really are. Apart we are nothing, together… we are all!"

Kagome glowered at him. "I will never let you take me! I will never let you have my power to become a true youkai!"

Naraku looked at her, his eyes widened. Then he did something Kagome did not expect. He laughed. He laughed loud and hard as if he heard the most amusing tale.

"To be a youkai! What a fool to believe that I would ever desire to be such a weak and temperamental creature." His laughter died to an amused smile.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you!"

Naraku smirked. "Belief and truth are far and in between. I have no reason to lie to you, in fact, I couldn't even if I tried."

"Then why the hell do you want my powers!" Kagome yelled, tears falling down her cheeks as her anger and bitterness grew. "Why did you do this? What was it for!"

Naraku flicked his eyes around the Wasteland, observing the chaos he caused. He shrugged passively. "They attacked me. And I killed them. That is my nature. As for you," his red eyes glinted menacingly, "your power will become one with my own, once I kill you of course."

"You sick fuck!" Kagome blasted her aura out at him, but the wall of force just passed through him.

Naraku stood, watching her in amusement. "Foolish girl, without the youkai aura your power has no control over me."

Again she tried, and again the wall passed through him like a soft wind. She summoned over and over all she had yet as much as she tried, her power would not obey. She could not touch him. She watched in denial as Naraku walked over to her slowly, smirking at her. The power she induced on him seemed to form a pink halo around him and he closed his eyes as if reveling in it.

He breathed in deep and sighed. "How I missed this." He lifted his hand to look at the pink hue that surrounded him.

What was going on? Why didn't her power work! What was she supposed to do!

Kagome stumbled back, tripping over InuYasha and falling over him onto her backside. The blackness around his near dead form again pulled at her essence. She gasped and pulled her body from his touch. "InuYasha." She sobbed desperately. She hung her head in defeat. Her power could not harm Naraku, there was nothing left she could do. Except one last thing. "InuYasha… I'm sorry…."

Naraku's eyes narrowed at the blackness that surrounded the hanyou's body then flicked his eyes at Kagome. "I grow tired of this." He raised his clawed hand for the killing blow. "This life is over!"

Kagome lifted her eyes to look decidedly up at Naraku. "Yes. But not by you."

Naraku's eyes flashed wide in realization. "NO!" He raked his venomous claws down at her. But it was too late. Kagome flung her body onto InuYasha, and held him tight. The blackness washed from him into her, pulling her into infinite darkness as she gave up her life, to save his.


	29. Chapter 29

InuYasha slowly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly as they grew into focus. He groaned in annoyance as his body was gaining awareness, as if waking from a heavy sleep. He stretched slightly and winced as a sharp pain itched from his throat. Dragging a heavy hand to his neck to rub the offending ache, he grimaced at how logy his whole body felt. Fortunately the heaviness was fading, as was the throbbing pain that had woken him. He breathed in deep and his breath caught. The scent of death and mud and blood overwhelmed him, as his senses grew stronger. His eyes widened in realization as he lifted his head and quickly looked around.

_Kagome! _

"Kagome?" His voice strained in an anxious rasp. Staring wildly around, he quickly hoisted his stomach off the ground in order to sit up. As he did so a soft weight slid off his back to fall beside him. Turning to look down at what it was, the shock bled the red from his face.

"Kagome…?" His voice shook uncertainly. _Please god, no…._ He stretched his hand to her upturned frame and touched her flushed cheek. She was still warm but her face held no life. "Ka… Kagome?" He nudged her softly.

Her body tilted from his prodding, but she gave no response.

He turned to lie beside her, searching her face for any signs of life. Stroking her cooling skin with shaking hands, InuYasha shook his head in denial. "No…no…. Kagome? Kagome, open your eyes…. Kagome?" He bit his lower lip and tears burned his cheeks as they flowed unchecked. He shut them in an attempt to fight the truth before him. He swallowed hard and opened his deep golden eyes to stare down at her in desperation. "Kagome? Please, Kagome. Wake up…." He began to sob. "Wake up, please wake up. Don't' be…."

He inhaled deep and sat up. "Kagome!" He shouted at her and shook her hard. "Don't be dead. PLEASE GOD! NO! DON'T BE DEAD!" He gathered her up into his lap and held her hard against him. Heart wrenching whimpers cut his throat as he looked blindly around. He rocked back and forth, her empty body growing heavy in his tight grip. His breathing grew louder and faster until the pain couldn't be contained.

The battlefield echoed over and over with his roar like screams.

His head collapsed onto her chest, his pain now a steady flood that poured from him. He cried softly over where her heart should beat. Lifting his head, he began to kiss her stilled chest, up to her neck then settled on her paling lips. He kissed them over and over, praying to give them warmth, wishing to have them kiss his back.

"Kagome." He whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry… I failed you."

"Such sentimentalities you mortals have. It would be quite endearing if it was not so foolhardy."

InuYasha whipped his gaze around, his eyes flooding red at the sound of the voice. "Naraku!"

The dark haired man watched the hanyou solemnly. "I can never understand the obsession you mortals have toward flesh and bone. It is just a useless pot once all that was inside is gone. Throw it away and be done with it, and save yourselves the trouble and heartache."

Glaring in seething hatred at the creature before him, InuYasha gripped Kagome's body to him hard before gently laying her on the ground. He gave her one last aching look and a soft caress before shutting his eyes and turning to stand completely before the man he was about to kill. "You…" he growled, "have never known pain like the pain I will give you today."

Naraku rolled his eyes wearily. "I am beginning to wonder when mortals will grow beyond their ignorance." His red eyes narrowed as he frowned at the hanyou. "You seem to make it a requirement for existence."

InuYasha's eyes were still shut, but tightened as his body quaked in ebbing rage. An uneasy wind shifted through his blood caked hair. His voice was calm and gruffly deep as he spoke. "Enjoy these last few moments now. I'm going to kill you slowly, cutting you piece by fucking piece until I have bathed in all your blood." His slow, hot ragged breath steamed the chilled air.

Naraku quirked an eyebrow and settled his gaze upon Kagome's body. "And to think, she used to sing the praises of humanity. She delighted in your fancies and …hmm… what did she call it? Ahhh, yes… innocence." He looked over and brushed a snowflake from his shoulder nonchalantly, almost bored as he pondered. "I am having a hard time seeing where she saw that from."

The inu-hanyou flashed his blood filled eyes open in bloodthirsty readiness. "You never knew her!"

Naraku busily straightened his robe, brushing dirt and blood from it, paying no head to the hanyou in front of him. "On the contrary, I know her quite well. But I seem to be taking this little matter of her death much better than others."

A low growl cut into the bitter wind that cascaded around them. "I…will have … my revenge."

The man smirked as his eyes flicked over InuYasha lazily, taking in the elongated razor like claws and the jagged streaks cutting across the hanyou's face. "My, my, to what do I owe the honor of this? Truly, InuYasha, being a full youkai becomes you."

InuYasha grinned evilly. His fingers flexed in eagerness as he pounced at the false demon, only to swipe at empty air as the man shifted easily out of the way.

"We are still at that are we?" Naraku smirked. "Well, I wouldn't be me if it were otherwise. I seem to bring the worst out in people." He chuckled as if to a private joke.

InuYasha landed hard and skidded to a halt. He crouched as he analyzed his options.

Naraku looked over at the miko's body and moved toward it.

"Stay the fuck away from her!" In a flash of silver, InuYasha ran toward Naraku, only to crash heavily against an invisible barrier. Falling back he growled heavily. "What the fuck…?"

Naraku chuckled softly and shook his head. Turning to look back at the hanyou he grinned. "Do you think only she was capable of such powers? Do any of you not understand? What she can do, I can as well?"

InuYasha snarled and tore his claws into the barrier to no avail as his enemy crouched over his mate's body.

"She was a pretty human, I will give her that." Naraku lifted Kagome's arm and watched it drop. "A bit reckless in this life though. But I am sure she was much more fun in this life than her last. Midoriko was very serious." He turned and smirked at the hanyou. "But just as stubborn. At least she had a slight understanding what she was and knew some of the powers she had. She burned my best robe before she did the stupid thing and killed herself." He shook his head and looked down at Kagome in contemplation before standing. He sighed. "She always fights back for some reason. I'm hoping in the next life she'll come to grips with her destiny and just let me kill her."

A furious growl howled over the barrens as InuYasha attacked the barrier two fold. "She will never submit to you!"

Naraku frowned. "Yes, I am beginning to think you are right. I had taken the initiative fifteen years ago to just take her when she was a child. But damned if she wasn't a spitfire back then. I am amazed how much power she could emit from such a tiny frame. Even now her powers have grown beyond what she was capable of in her former lives, especially since she denies what she is."

"Keh… you killed her family, destroyed her home, slaughtered everyone she knew! I am surprised you are still alive."

Naraku glared back at the brazen demon. "I had survived over a thousand years waiting for this moment. True, I was always overzealous whenever her aura called me. But she is capable of only destroying the demons that make my body. She could never destroy me, even if she wanted to."

InuYasha's blood swirled eyes narrowed as he tested the barrier by raking his talons down it. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"Could the sun darken the night? Could water burn fire? Could death create life?" The dark man turned to look fully at the hanyou.

InuYasha growled but did not answer.

Naraku smirked. "Yes… they could and they do. It is their nature to rebel against their counterpart, just as it is their nature to be one with them. The miko may feel compelled to run from me, and have you protect her from me. But within her, she is also drawn to me. And soon, she will also be one with me."

InuYasha ripped his claws against the barrier. "Never! She is mine!"

Naraku glanced down at the body. "What was her was mine." He leaned down and hoisted Kagome up by the collar of her torn kimono. "But this… thing… is yours." He tossed it through the barrier at InuYasha.

The hanyou leapt up and caught Kagome's body before she crumpled to the ground. Cradling her lifeless form to his chest, his body shuddered in uncontrolled wrath. "You fucking shit faced bastard. I'm going to kill you!"

Naraku growled slightly in annoyance. "Why is there a desire to destroy everything you don't understand?"

InuYasha flashed his glowing eyes to the offensive voice. "I understand that you are a bloodthirsty murderer, and you will be exterminated like a plague of vermin!"

Naraku frowned and looked around the battlefield. "So much violence. Why all of this for a shell of a girl?"

InuYasha stepped back softly and placed Kagome's body gently on the ground, watching her in turmoil. "She… was my mate." His clawed hand traced her features, though it shook hastily. His body looked charged and his very countenance burned with murderous thoughts as he stood to face the barrier once more. "And you killed her."

The dark man sighed. "No, unfortunately I did not."

InuYasha growled, his body ready to lunge towards the barrier once again, but halted in shock as the next words that flowed from the man's mouth chilled his soul.

"You killed her." Naraku looked bored as his eyes settled on Kagome's body behind InuYasha.

InuYasha's eyes widened as he searched Naraku's face for any semblance of treachery. His face contorted in pain filled denial and hatred. "You lie." His guttural voice seethed.

"Had I been the one to take her soul, would I still be here?" Naraku frowned at the miko's body.

"How the fuck should I know!" The inu hanyou paced back and forth along the invisible wall separating him from his vengeance. "Once you stole her powers, maybe the idea of fucking with me gave you hentai boy pleasures."

Naraku looked stunned then laughed. "Why does everyone assume that? Take her powers? Her powers are my powers. It was just her life I wanted."

InuYasha crouched down, glaring hard up at the man as his laughter died away. "You wanted her dead? Why?"

Naraku searched the hanyou's eyes as he thought about the answer. His voice seemed distant as he slowly chanted the verse. "In the blackness there was one, a border lined by fate… broken and condemned to life, deigned inside love and hate…. Concealed within dark and light, until death's sacrifice taken, the one will now cease to be, but powers will awaken."

"The prophesy?" InuYasha growled. "What the fuck does that mean?"

Naraku looked at the dead body before him. "In this time, it no longer matters. It did not come to pass. She sacrificed herself to save you. She seems to have a tendency to do that." He frowned.

For some reason he knew the villain wasn't lying. The hanyou hesitantly looked back to his mate's body. His eyes filled with sorrow and remorse as he remembered what had happened before he awoke. Kagome must have tried to revive him, but died just as he gained back his life. His claws dug deep into the palms of his hands, spilling blood on the frozen ground as her sacrifice hit him hard. "No…." His voice was pale and weak as his ears flattened hard against his head.

"Now I have to wait for another eon for her to come back, and I can't tell you how much of a bitch waiting that long is."

InuYasha's ears flashed forward as Naraku's statement woke him from his glazed regret. He shut his eyes as bitter decisiveness pounded in his chest. He turned his back on Naraku to kneel before his lifeless mate. His voice was calm and cold as he spoke quietly. "You will never have to wait again."

"Oh?" Naraku sneered. "And how is that?"

Gently the torn hanyou lifted Kagome's body into his arms and turned. Standing tall and proud before the barrier, InuYasha lifted his head to look stoically at a dark-eyed Naraku. The hanyou-youkai's outward appearance was identical to the coldhearted face of his half-brother, but inside, the broken heart of the inu thundered one last wish. _Live, laugh… and love in your next life_..._ my Kagome._ "You say you have her powers? That she is like you?"

Naraku smirked and lifted his head to the heavens. "Finally! Someone understands!"

"I understand more than you know." He hugged her tight against her chest. "And I know she will never be hunted again."

In one swift movement, the hanyou leapt, breaking though the barrier to land in a crouch. In a move quicker than sight, he dropped Kagome and lunged for the creature before him. Tears fell unknowingly from blood red eyes as claws raked out and the end stood still.

_It's dark._

_This is the end and the beginning. It is always dark._

_Where am I?_

_Do you not know this place?_

… _I… I don't know_.

_Then you will never know_.

_Who are you?_

A flicker of silver wavered in the blackness.

_I…I know you…._

_Yes._

Aura of blue glowed around her.

_Otou?_

The taiyoukai's blurry form focused into her view to stand before her in his full glory, whole and unmarked by the battle. His blue aura emitted a soft haze around him, but the blackness still surrounded them. Within his hand glowed, like the purest star, Tensaiga.

Kagome looked up at him expectantly. _I don't… understand_.

Sesshomaru's golden eyes looked down upon her in patience and understanding. Casting his gaze around them in silent wonder and solitude, he was reluctant to speak. _This is … the boundary_.

Kagome hesitantly looked around in the blackness. It felt like she couldn't see beyond her own nose, but at the same time she felt she was looking across the entire universe. It just went on and on, and she knew it had no end or beginning. It felt like liquid cold and warm silk across her skin. It smelled so rich and empty, that it reminded her of every memory she had.

She closed her eyes in wonder and awe, allowing her hearing to pick up a hint of blowing wind though she could not feel it. It hummed softly like a chorus of voices. She opened her violet eyes to it all again. Her body felt at one with this place, as if she was always yearning to be here, and now she was where she belonged. The wonder of it all swept within her that she was amazed how she had room for all the feelings that had come over her. But for some reason, it did not feel complete. A hollow recess within this place seemed to beckon to her to fill it. After what felt like a moment or an eternity she finally looked back up to the demon lord. _How… did I get here?_

Sesshomaru's eyes were closed in his own silent meditation before slowly opening them to look down at her. _You died._

Kagome frowned in confusion. _I… died?_ Flashes of the battle echoed around her as her memories awoke. InuYasha's lifeless form was her last vision before she became aware of this place. _InuYasha?_

_Is alive._

Kagome nodded slowly in solemn acceptance before she again looked around and filtered in the darkness around her. _I… have been here before_.

Sesshomaru tilted his head in acknowledgment.

_I have seen this place…._ Visions of the animals she had tamed rushed to her. This was the place she called forth when she combined her essence with them, seeing it within the quiet recesses of their souls. Kagome blinked back the memories as another entered her mind that made her eyes widen in fear. _And I have dreamed of this place. He searched for me here._

The inu youkai searched her face in quiet contemplation as if a dawning realization had settled within him.

Kagome looked up at him confused._ What is this place_?

_This… is the boundary… the border between what we understand as life and death_. Sesshomaru extended his hand behind him. _The existing…._ Then he extended his other that held Tensaiga towards her. _And the existence_.

Kagome looked from before her to her behind her, looking far into the darkness that Tensaiga pointed towards. _Do you not mean existed?_

Sesshomaru watched her intently. _No. If you do not exist, then you are of existence. Whether you have existed or will exist matters not. That is a definition of time. And that does not exist here._ He smiled slightly.

She slowly looked back up to him. _Why am I here and not…?_

_In the afterworld?_

Kagome nodded.

Her adopted father pondered for a moment. _Perhaps this is where you make your choice_.

Kagome frowned. _My choice?_

Sesshomaru bowed his head. _To whether you choose to pass into the afterworld to eventually exist once more… or…._ He turned his head behind him.

Kagome gazed into the darkness ahead of her, beyond her father's form_. Or to go back_?

Her father turn his head back to look at her in quiet acquiescence.

The girl cast her gaze around in confusion. _But I have made my choice. I gave my life to InuYasha so he would live. I chose death, so Naraku would not take me and our people would be safe. Why would I come here?_ She then looked up at him in deeper mystification. _And why are you here?_ Her eyes widened in saddened shock _Otou? Did you… did you die?_

The taiyoukai glanced behind him and gazed into the darkness. _My life still exists for the moment._ He peered down at Tensaiga. _It is this that has brought me here_.

Violet eyes flicked over the sword intently as if searching its being for answers. They widened as the sword's aura flashed and wavered. _It… it calls to me._

Sesshomaru nodded. _It is of this place_. The inu lord raised his golden orbs to seek her violet. _And it is of you_.

Kagome closed her eyes as she tried to take it in. _Of me?_

Tensaiga holds the power of this place. It can see those that pass into and out of it, and keep those from crossing the border into the afterlife. Just as you can.

Kagome bowed her head. _How is this possible?_

You and Tensaiga are of this place. This is where Tensaiga was created, for you created it.

Kagome's head whipped up. _I what?_

Sesshomaru ignored her question and looked into the darkness. _What do you feel?_

Reluctantly, the girl lifted her hands to her chest, breathing in deep and shivered as if overwhelmed. _I know…Tensaiga and this…place. They feel the same. As if they share something._

Opening her violet orbs again she stared at the gleaming sword. It pulsed under her gaze and the darkness shimmered around her. It was if Tensaiga was a drop of water, and the darkness rippled from its force. Eddies of black waves passed over her father's blue aura, but absorbed into her. Her eyes widened at the realization since she had not been aware of it until now_. I… I'm taking it in… the blackness_. She looked up the demon lord. _This… is what I see when I heal… this blackness…it becomes apart of me…._

Sesshomaru nodded once. _When those that exist start to die, they begin to pass through the boundary between worlds. This place calls to them, to pull them into the afterworld. At times, messengers of the nether realms pass through, to trap the souls. But they are not of this place. Thus Tensaiga can destroy them, and also absorb the essence of the boundary to heal and restore life. You do so as well. You pull the boundary back within you, closing the rift between worlds_.

Kagome lifted her hand and watched as the swirls of darkness flowed into her. _How?_

Sesshomaru watched her. T_his place is of you. You are of the boundary_.

Kagome looked at him. _I don't understand_.

Sesshomaru searched her form. _Do you not feel it?_

The young woman bit her lower lip but did not answer. She felt like she was apart of this place, but she also felt alone. As deep as she let herself fall into its embrace, she also knew it was devoid of something, something she was not willing to take hold of.

She shook her head violently. She could not stay here. She shut her eyes as if willing to find sanctuary.

_Kagome?_ The demon lord looked at her then behind her.

Kagome reluctantly looked back to him and turned to follow his gaze. A faint redness glowed before her as the darkness opened in front of her to let in a hidden dawn. Casting her gaze into to the warming light, Kagome gasped at the sight. Swirls of every color under the sun mixed and ebbed within each other, separating and joining, swirling and dancing in chaotic prisms that faded in and out. She watched as the glow stretched deep and wide like a nebula before her, stopping at the edge of blackness of the boundary by which she stood.

Her eyes widened as the glow rolled and swirled. It was like an anarchic rainbow swirled mist that streamed and wavered like a thunderstorm. A multitude of voices in sync whispered to her beyond the boundary of light. In a gentle caress of warmth and love the word _Shikon_ was breathed in and out of the nebula of light.

Kagome reached out to touch it in reverence. _So beautiful._

A small fog-like wisp flowed out from the stream of light and weaved between her fingers. A child's giggle echoed around her that was so infectious that Kagome smiled back. The fog flowed back into the swirling mist and the entire mass began to spin. Strands of colors grew together to create ghost like shapes that flowed over towards her. Three human like forms stopped at the edge of the prismatic shield.

_Kagome…._ Her name whispered around her.

The girl blinked heavily as if from a dream and she reached out towards the figures with the palm of her hands extended.

The three forms stretched forward and caressed her fingers and palms. Slowly the forms defined their shapes, and the souls of the departed stood before her.

_Sango… Miroku… Kouga…._ Kagome smiled softly at them, then her face fell. _This is the entrance to the afterworld._

_Kagome…. _Sesshomaru called to her from far behind her.

Kagome turned to him in perplexity. _Why are you back there? Come! Look, they are all here!_

Sesshomaru shook his head. _I am not allowed. I am still bound to the living. It is only by Tensaiga I am allowed to stand at the edge of the border. I cannot pass beyond it_.

Kagome frowned as she realized her father had not moved from that spot the entire time. She watched Tensaiga, lost in thought. _Yes, I remember you saying. Tensaiga can see the border between life and death, and it can destroy the messengers that pass beyond it_. Her eyes lit up. _Otou! You are still alive. Tensaiga revived you. Can't you revive our people? The ones…._ She looked back at her friends. _The ones we lost?_

_No. They are not within my reach. They have already passed beyond the boundary_.

Kagome gazed helplessly at her friends. _Then what will become of them?_

_They will simply be. And perhaps they will exist again_.

_Perhaps?_

_I cannot say for certain how life begins or ends. That is beyond Tensaiga, and thus beyond me_. Sesshomaru gazed at her intently. _It is not, however, beyond you._

Kagome looked back at him. _What do you mean?_

_You stand on the border._ _You can reach them. And you can bring them back_.

Kagome looked into the darkness behind her father. _Bring them back? But…how?_

Sesshomaru shook his head. _I do not know._

Kagome lifted her hand towards her friends. _I don't know how to bring them back. Even if I did, I don't know if I could. I chose to die, to keep them safe. If anything, I should be with them_. Her eyes drifted into the chaotic swirls, longing to fold into its embrace.

A soft growl rumbled behind her. _Will that always be your choice?_

Kagome turned to him confused. _What do you mean?_

_You have taken this path before, Kagome. Do you not remember?_

Kagome looked quickly away. _No, I don't know what you're talking about_.

_Another war was fought before this and another miko had sacrificed her life_.

Kagome lifted her eyes back into the light. _Midoriko_?

_She also died to save her people. She also ended up here_.

Kagome looked into the swirling depths of light, entranced. It felt safe. It felt serene. _What other choice did we have? We couldn't go back. He was there. _

_No matter what way you decide, to be born again, or to go back, he will always be there_.

She looked at the inu-youkai intently. _You make it sound like he will never be stopped. That the only way to have all this end is to… to…._

_To give up your existence_. _Become one with Naraku_.

_I can't do that_.

Then you will forever end up here. To chose life only to be hunted again. Your friends and family killed to protect you. Is that what you will choose?

Kagome looked at him stunned then horrified. _But you were the one to protect me at all cost! You were the one who hid me from him! You were the one who said he must not kill me! Why do you say this to me now!_

_Because you were not ready. Had he killed you against your choice, you would never have come to terms with what you truly are. _Sesshomaru sighed. _And because I never knew what you truly were_. _Now, in this place, I know. And now, you must come to terms with it as well_.

Kagome closed her eyes in frustration and shook her head. _No…_. _No more riddles. No more guesses. Why can't someone just straight out tell me what I am!_

The quietness seemed stifling before Sesshomaru replied. _Because we cannot. Only you can decide what you are_.

Kagome lifted her eyes to look in helplessness at her friends before closing her eyes once again. _I am the Shikon no Tama. But what that is, I don't know._

…_Because you are not complete_.

Kagome blinked heavily to look over at her father. _What?_

Sesshomaru bowed his head solemnly. _You will never know what you really are because you are not whole_.

_I don't understand…._

Sesshomaru watched her closely. _In the blackness there was one, a border lined by fate. Broken and condemned to life, deigned inside love and hate. Concealed within dark and light, until death's sacrifice taken, the one will now cease to be, but powers will awaken_.

_The prophecy_? _What does it mean_?

Sesshomaru looked into the blackness around her.

Kagome turned around, away from the streaming tide of light and stood still. Again the darkness coated her, and overwhelmed her with a sense of hunger for completion. Her eyes flashed wide. _In the darkness… there was one_. Looking over at Sesshomaru, Kagome stared in awe. _A border lined by fate. A border that separates the realm of the living from the realm of the dead_. She looked at Sesshomaru then back at the opening to the afterworld. _Broken and condemned to life? Are you saying I was the one and I was broken_?

Silence answered her. Kagome searched the darkness blindly. _Forced inside love and hate_. She looked at her friends. _They said my powers only occurred when I felt love_. _But what about hate? My power never worked through anger or hatred, only when I need to protect someone I loved. The only thing I know whose power come from hate is…._ Kagome covered her mouth in shock. _Naraku!_ _But if that were true, then it would mean…._

Her dreams echoed in the dark. She was here, in this place, with him. Kagome searched the darkness as the forgotten voices of her dreams flooded into her memory.

"_You and I are one…."_

"I will not be broken."

"You already are."

Kagome clenched her eyes tight, trying to deny the truth.

"_I will fight you_!"

"_Fight yourself_?"

She stumbled around, dizzy as the realization hit her hard. She swung her gaze to her father. _Naraku! He… is he…!_

_He is you_.

Kagome's violet eyes stared into the darkness for a long time. _Broken… and separated into love and hate, dark and light_. Her eyes shown shock then sadness then acceptance as it all came to her. Eventually her eyes looked up at the inu lord. _All this time I've been running from him… terrified… and I never knew why I always fought when deep inside me I just wanted to give in to him_.

She looked back to the border that would help her pass into the afterworld. _Every time we fought, I knew I could never defeat him. So I would sacrifice that life to hide from him in the next. No one was hurt, no one died_. She looked back at Sesshomaru in deep sadness. _Midoriko fought back, but even then I knew I could never destroy him. So again I come full circle. But this time, I did not want to die. I was not about to give up this life because I found what it is I wanted_. She looked into the blackness beyond Sesshomaru. _He has been trying all this time to bring me back here, where we belonged. To become one again. But I didn't want to._

Kagome turned to look at her friends. _And because of it, I sacrificed the very thing that I am. But this time I will make right._ She closed her eyes and spread her arms. The spirits of her friends were pulled back into the soul filled nebula as it rolled and rose like a massive tidal wave. Her blue-black hair lifted and flowed as the darkness swept into her, pulling the summoned souls with it. In a clash of power, light and color, all those sacrificed by Naraku flooded into her.

_With death's sacrifice taken, the one will now cease to be. I will awaken_.


	30. Chapter 30

_InuYasha's ears flashed forward as Naraku's statement woke him from his glazed regret. He shut his eyes and bitter decisiveness pounded in his chest. He turned his back on Naraku to kneel before his lifeless mate. His voice was calm and cold as he spoke barely above a whisper. "You will never have to wait again."_

"_Oh?" Naraku sneered. "And how is that?"_

_Gently the torn hanyou lifted his mate's body into his arms and turned. Standing tall and proud before the barrier, InuYasha lifted his head to look stoically at a dark-eyed Naraku. The hanyou-youkai's outward appearance was almost identical to the coldhearted face of his half-brother, but inside, the broken heart of the inu thundered one last wish. "You say you have her powers? That she is like you?"_

_Naraku smirked and lifted his face to the heavens. "Finally! Someone understands!"_

"I understand more than you know." He hugged her body tight against his chest. "And I know she will never be hunted again." Live, laugh… and love in your next life... my Kagome.

_In one swift movement, the hanyou leapt, breaking though the barrier to land in a crouch. In a move quicker than sight, he dropped Kagome and lunged for the creature before him. Tears fell unknowingly from blood red eyes as his claws raked out and the end stood still._

InuYasha landed hard on the ice-cold ground and looked up. Naraku was gone. He turned quickly only to have his throat caught in a vice like grip. He struggled to no avail as he was lifted off the ground. Blackness swirled across his eyes as he fought unconsciousness from Naraku's strangling hold.

"Fool! If you knew her as you say then you would also know her powers!" Naraku pulled the hanyou's face level to his. "Do you think I'd let time confine me? I am time!" His hot breath made the hanyou dizzy. "Death is eternal."

"So is love."

Naraku swung his head around to the voice.

InuYasha's eyes widened in disbelief. "Ka…gome…?"

The young miko pushed herself off the ground to sit up. Watching the two, her expression was mixed with sadness, peacefulness and confusion. Slowly she stood. The winter wind flapped heavily against her blood soaked kimono. She blinked slowly as if waking from a dream and cast her gaze around the battlefield before looking up at Naraku and then InuYasha. "Put him down." She requested softly.

Naraku's hand automatically released his hold and InuYasha toppled to the ground. The hanyou struggled to stand as his hand gripped his throat protectively.

The red-eyed man turned to face her fully and stepped closer to her. His face was impassive and he did not speak as he raised his hand towards her.

"Stay away from her!" A guttural rasp erupted from the half demon as he lunged toward Naraku, his claws moments from imbedding into the man's back, before his wrist was caught from allowing him to follow through.

InuYasha balked, staring disbelieving at the cold golden eyes of his brother who blocked his path to Naraku. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Seize your actions." Sesshomaru turned to look behind him. InuYasha followed his gaze and his jaw dropped.

Both Naraku and Kagome were standing in front of each other, looking deep into each other's eyes. Naraku's hand was cupping her check while her hand tentatively pressed against the smooth skin of his now exposed chest. Slowly they both turned to stand beside each other to look at the inu brothers.

Kagome nodded softly at her adopted father. "It is… understood." She turned her soft eyes at InuYasha. "You can release him."

Sesshomaru let go of InuYasha's wrist and both brothers turned to regard the couple cautiously.

"Kagome?" InuYasha stepped forward hesitantly. "I thought… but you were… how?"

Kagome smiled sadly and stepped away from Naraku's side. "InuYasha…I…. I came back… to say goodbye."

InuYasha flicked his eyes angrily up at Naraku and reached out to her. "No… Kagome, come here."

She shook her head sadly, her smile faltering. "No…. I don't belong here." She glanced at Naraku who looked solemnly back at her. She slowly turned back to gaze at InuYasha, tears had filled her eyes. "I have to go now. I have to set things right."

"I don't understand." InuYasha flicked his attention to his brother who stood there impassively, as if he knew what was happening, before turning hurt filled eyes towards her. "Kagome?"

Her brow knotted together and she struggled to speak for a few moments as she tried to gather the memories she had long forgotten. She drifted her glassy violet eyes to stare into his feral red, still marked by his raging youkai. "I am still not sure if I understand it myself. All I know is that I've been fighting this for so long, that I soon forgot what it was I was fighting, and why." She sighed shakily and tears began to fall from her eyes. "But I will remember it all soon."

InuYasha shook his head, trying to fight what she was saying to him. "Kagome? No…."

She bit her lip as she struggled not to cry, but failed miserably. "For as long as I can remember, I was searching for something that I desperately wanted. I… looked for it for a long time, but I forgot what it was… I got lost." She looked over at Naraku. "He's been searching for me."

"Kagome?" InuYasha breathed.

She peered back at him, struggling to contain her tears. "He's going to take me back to where I belong. He's taking me home, InuYasha."

"What! No! You are home. Here… with me…." He reached for her again and flinched when she staggered back to stand next to Naraku.

"No! I… I can't stay. Not anymore." She clenched her fists to her chest and searched the hanyou's eyes, pleading for understanding. Her heart skipped a beat at the pain and torture she witnessed in him. But she was wasting time, and it had to be done soon or she would not be able to contain herself. With sad resolution, she slowly looked up at Naraku and nodded. He in turn inclined his head in readiness. Kagome bit her lip and walked unsteadily over to InuYasha and stood in front of him. She uncontrollably sobbed and collapsed into his arms and held him tight.

InuYasha's arms shook as he raised them to hold her to him tightly. He breathed in her hair, trying desperately to remember every scent, every touch, every emotion she stirred in him.

"Don't ever think I did this because I never cared." She whispered against his cheek. "I spent a lifetime looking for you, and I will spend eternity loving you." She pulled back slightly and pressed her forehead against his. "Kiss me…."

The hanyou shuddered, his stripes and red eyes fading at her touch, turning him back into the hanyou she always knew. He could feel overwhelming peace and tranquility flood into him. He knew she was trying save him from his grief, but no amount of her power could ever reach the darkness her absence would create. His now golden eyes looked deep into her violet, as he pressed his lips against hers. He kept his eyes open as he kissed her, unable to fully comprehend what was going on, but knowing he was quickly losing her. He pulled her harder up to him to deepen the kiss, his eyes watering but refusing to let the tears fall.

Her eyes brimmed in such sadness and deep love that it sucked the life from his being. He couldn't breathe, and at that moment he realized he never wanted to breathe again. After only a moment in his view, she pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss. He involuntarily heaved in a sharp breath.

Her deep eyes searched his and she kissed his lips once more. "Goodbye."

InuYasha opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strangled scream as watched her eyes flash wide in shock with Naraku's hand pressed hard against her back. He watched as the glow of warmth, laughter, and love fade from her being as her life was sucked away into the creature behind her. He knew he would forever see this moment for the rest of his life.

InuYasha collapsed onto his knees, holding once again Kagome's lifeless form in his arms. Unchecked tears streamed down his face and he clenched her body against him so tightly she would have cried out if she could. He tucked his head numbly into the crook of her neck, cradling her face with his own. _I never got to tell you…. I never got to say goodbye._

A bright glow crept into his numbed mind and he hesitantly looked up. He blinked heavily to clear the tears from his gaze and his mouth opened in awe. Within the brilliant light before him he saw two souls converge, and the body he knew as Naraku had melded into a creature that could only be described as heavenly as it lifted up from the ground.

It stood tall and proud, slender but strong. Its body looked as frail as the willow boughs but the prismatic aura that exuded from it showed great power. It was clothed in light and wind, and in every colour and hue imaginable. But it was its face that made InuYasha's eyes glisten in wonder. It, too, seemed to be made of light, and he could not tell whether it was the face of a child, a woman or a man. It seemed to be all ages, all races and both genders. It's face was gently framed by long gleaming hair, made of rays of light and shadow that reached the tips of the creature's toes, which drifted a few feet from the ground.

The light of this creature was intense. Its brilliance would make any mortal blind, yet the inu hanyou could not even blink as he stared up at it. A deep sigh seemed to echo into his very soul as thousands of voices in chorus breathed within the being. Very slowly, it opened its pink hued eyes and smiled down at him.

InuYasha could only stare up at it, unable to move from the ground, which was now bathed in pure light that was unfazed and untouched by the blood war it blanketed.

"You are the Shikon no Tama." Sesshomaru stated quietly.

The entity turned its gaze to the youkai standing behind the hanyou's form. Its voice was quiet in serenity, as many voices seem to speak as one, though the entity did not even open its mouth. Instead, it was if the inu brothers could hear it in their very souls.

"I am." It replied. Looking back at InuYasha, its smile grew to one of peaceful grace. "And because of you, I am whole."

"Me?" InuYasha breathed.

It lowered its head in acquiescence.

The half demon unconsciously held Kagome tighter. "How?"

"You have given me what I had lost."

"I don't understand."

The celestial gazed deep into InuYasha's eyes, and he could not tell if it looked at him like he was a child needing guidance or if it was the child, begging him to play. If possible, it was both. "A thousand years ago, I was broken, but because of your sacrifices, I am now again one."

InuYasha slowly shook his head and searched the creature drifting before him. "Wh… what are you?"

The entity shut its eyes and seemed to be in deep though before it opened them again to watch the inu demons. "I was created at the dawn of time, to be the foundation of existence. As such, I underlie all of creation. I am light, I am dark, I am life and I am death. I embody love and hate, heaven and hell. I am the beginning and I am the end. I am all… and I was nothing."

The Shikon looked softly at the hanyou. "For eons I have created you, have watched you live, and have brought you home. Again to see you live anew."

InuYasha felt Sesshomaru stand beside him. "You created us? You created life? Why? What is it all for?"

The Shikon laughed. It sounded like a husky chuckle, a child's giggle and a hushed secret. "You were created to create us."

Sesshomaru hinted a frown. "Us?"

The Tama appeared thoughtful. "All within the expanse of creation, and beyond."

The tai youkai growled slightly. "Explain."

The entity's eyes glowed deeper shades of sunset as its smile grew at the desired knowledge the youkai wanted possess. It was in everyone's nature to want to know such secrets, though they were never secrets, just knowledge not needed to know.

"The beginning of creation started with one thought, one consciousness. All held within a grain of light, enveloped by an expanse of space that can never truly be fathomed by the mortal mind. Within that grain of light, all that exists today was contained. Yet this one small point of light was all there was. It was alone. Within eternity of a moment, it shattered itself, and spread across space, creating worlds, stars and time. But now shattered, it no longer held one thought, it held many. It was chaotic and cold, and there was no purpose to this new universe. Within the chaos, there was a need for something to set it in order. Thus these thoughts created life, a means for them to expand, to give them form and shape. In order to do so, they created me, a boundary between existence and existing. I would be the one to bring these forms into life, and to bring these lives back to form when they have ceased to live."

Sesshomaru blinked. "You were created to makes these thoughts, this shattered entity, into souls, to be born and to live?"

The Shikon tilted its head. "Yes."

"For what purpose?"

"Within the mortal heart lies a great power. It is the heart that defines what we are. When one lives, he bears fruit to many experiences, many choices and many emotions. It is how he feels that defines his choice, and it is his choice that defines his experience. It is experience that defines life. And it is life that shapes your heart, moulds your soul. It is the life of the soul that forms existence." It held out a delicate hand and a globe of fire and blackness swirled in the cup of its hand. "If one lives within darkness, it will be all the soul will know. It will pass into the outer world of existence once it has died, and bring with it knowledge collected in its life, and build with this knowledge a foundation to join the scattered pieces of that one consciousness." It lifted its other hand and a globe of light and flame swirled above it. "If the soul lives within light, it will know light, and it, too, will build a foundation. When the soul comes back to me, it is shaped by the life is has lived, and will bring to me its knowledge it has learned, which is used by the chaos of the soul stream to grow, expand, and create order. The more a soul lives, the more wondrous and great its knowledge becomes, and the more it will add to the foundation of the universe as it joins with other foundations." It let the two globes lift from its hands to combine with each other, creating a mass of brilliant energy and power as it mixed and ebbed. "Thus, building themselves back together, to one day again be whole." The Shikon no Tama drifted its hands down to its sides, and the ball of energy faded.

InuYasha looked over at Sesshomaru in utter confusion.

Sesshomaru appeared humbled. "Every time we live, we learn, and bring what we learn to the afterlife. The essences of what we learn are like pieces of a puzzle, shaping the consciousness back together, to reform a unity of several thoughts."

The Jewel of Souls nodded slightly. "For where there was one mind and one thought, there will now be many in one, and be one in many."

InuYasha stared up at his half brother. "How are you getting all this?"

Sesshomaru let his eyes drift to the hanyou, then down to his side. "Tensaiga."

"Yes. The Swords of Souls." The Shikon no Tama gazed down to Tensaiga and finally Tetsusaiga. "Within me is the power of yin and yang. So to does this power flow through each soul I created. Your father was an especially powerful soul. He came to understand the purpose for life late in his own, and though only death could unite him to the soul stream, he did use his soul's knowledge to capture a part of this divine power within him to be placed in each of his fangs. One made for life, the other for death. One is yin, the other yang. For so did your father love a mortal life, and understood its importance, did he give himself to protect it. To each of you he gave the power to guard the souls from harm, so that they may live to serve their purpose. Both fangs are of equal strength and importance. They are the essence of one, two halves of one soul. Together, they embody the truth of life." The Jewel shifted its gaze from Sesshomaru to InuYasha. "Through the power of the swords will you be the guardians of mortality, to ensure our world's restoration. As was the swords' purpose."

InuYasha looked slowly from his half brother to the Tama, his expression tired. His eyes filtered down to the body he held in his arms and blood hot rage suddenly pumped in him. "Guardians of mortality? Restoration of the heavens? A living border of life and death? Fuck this shit! If you are the one in charge of life and death, then what went wrong? If you have the power to give or take life, to be the link to do whatever you think is so important, then why were you broken! Why did you come here!"

A twilight gaze settled on the hanyou with aching sadness and serene acceptance. "I was created to be the border, nothing more, nothing less. Whereas all that created me would form within me to become mortal and live, I would not. A part of me was set on my duty and purpose, while the other wanted a chance to live, to be apart of the unification. I had resolved to let a part of me live, while the rest of me retained the boundary. Yet I could not create myself as a soul, for I was but the gateway between worlds. Instead I would be born within a soul."

"How was that possible?" Sesshomaru flicked his golden eyes over the heavenly being.

"A soul is formed with a collection of chaotic entities. Though one power may be more dominant than the rest, it is still one soul, but never to be the same when it lives again. When I molded the entities into a soul, I placed a portion of myself within it in order to be born as the dominant power. However, I never realized the ramifications."

It gazed from Sesshomaru to InuYasha. "When one is born, it does not remember where it has come from, nor its purpose beyond existing. When the soul is born, it is meant only to live, and to learn with no other influences other than the souls that live with it. Survival is innate, the will to live a force very difficult to break. When I was born, I forgot what I was, and forgot what I was intended for. So I lived. Only to live in fear for my survival when my other half came for me."

"Naraku?" InuYasha growled. "How is it possible that that sadistic bastard was also the Tama?"

The Jewel lowered its head slightly. "A soul is made of many parts, but these parts are governed by two sides."

"This yin and yang?" Sesshomaru asked.

The Shikon nodded. "A soul is a representation of me. I am the whole of opposites. When I had divided, I embodied one aspect, while my other half retained the polar side of it. Whereas I embodied life, light and good…."

Sesshomaru titled his head in understanding. "Your other half, Naraku, was of death, darkness and evil."

"Yes. As half of the Shikon no Tama, I only knew of purity and the powers of good. I feared my opposite. Thus, when the creature, Naraku, came to claim me, I ran. Instead of joining with him, as I was meant to, I hid within the soul stream, to be repeatedly born with the souls I inhabited. Yet I was never linked to the existence beyond the border. I was never a true soul. I was and will forever be the Shikon no Tama."

InuYasha's face fell to look down at the still body that lay limply in his arms. "Why?" He looked back up at the Tama. "How did you know? Why did you go back after all this time?"

The Shikon's soft eyes looked down at the body. "I was never complete with the soul I resided in. I never lived. I had always felt broken, incomplete." It drifted its gaze to InuYasha's. "Until I met you."

"Me?"

"I knew my other half searched for me, but the need for survival outweighed my forgotten duty. It was I that called your souls to me, to be my guardians. I knew you would have the strength to keep me alive, especially since your swords embodied my powers to protect mortality. Yet the bond I had formed with you was unlike any I had ever known." The Shikon looked at the necklace around InuYasha's neck. "When the rosary was placed, it forged the two souls together, and combined myself with your youkai. I had felt the most complete that I had ever in my thousand years I have existed. Then the link you had formed with my host soul created a power I had long since forgotten. It combined your two souls as one. It was this great power we shared that finally made me come to terms with what I was, though I could never truly comprehend it within my living soul."

InuYasha stood, unconsciously lifting the body into his arms as he looked up at the Sacred Jewel. "What power?"

"Love." The celestial smiled softly. "The greatest power any soul possessed as it melded back into existence was the essence of love. I had realized that that was what I had been searching for during my millennia of life. It is love that binds the souls here with each other, making them whole. It is love that connects you all to each other, for it is its power that reminds you all that you were once one. You are all a whole being that wishes to be so again."

Its eyes settled onto the body he cradled protectively in his arms.

"And there is nothing greater than this, than the one who sacrifices their life for love."

InuYasha lifted his face up at the Jewel. Tired pain was mixed with acceptance in his deep amber eyes. "You died for… for us." He sighed resolutely.

"I died to become what I am. It was not for love I sacrificed myself, but for necessity." Its pink hued eyes gazed upon the body serenely. "It was not my life, nor my love I gave to you." The Shikon's voice flowed around him. "That is something I could not be capable of giving, for it was not my soul to give."

InuYasha shook his head in deep dejection. What did that mean? He was never really loved? She never loved him? He felt his head drop and he cradled it into the cold crook of his mate's neck, trying to hide from the doubts and fears he held within him. InuYasha held the body tighter, afraid of what the Jewel would do or say if he let go. He couldn't let go, ever. Even if she was never real, even if her love was never real, he was. He'd be damned if he ever believed she did not love him. His soul practically screamed 'liar' at the Shikon's glowing face. He knew Kagome's heart, he felt it through the rosary. It was their bond, and he knew her soul…. He knew she loved him… right? She died for him, twice. Hadn't she? It was for love, wasn't it?

Wave after wave of self-loathing and cynicism flooded over him. How could she love him? She was a pure being and he was just a hanyou. It was the very reason why he could never be open with her, why he could never tell her how he really felt. He came to rely on the necklace to be his outlet, and even then he hid himself from her. He was afraid, pure and simple. He was afraid that she would find his weaknesses and hurt him in ways he could never protect himself. Why he had fought her so long, he didn't know. She knew his heart, knew what he was and accepted him in everyway. Except she never knew how he felt for her. Now that she was gone, he felt hollow, alone. Only his memories kept him here. Only the knowledge of her love…her love…was it ever there?

He fell on his knees and buried his head into the body's chest. Was it not enough he would never have her in his life again? Could he bear one more moment of it knowing she never once loved him?

"It was she who gave her life for love."

InuYasha gripped the body hard as the Tama's words flittered over him. He lifted his tear stained eyes up at the Tama in confusion, only to have them widen as he saw the rosary around his neck lift and shatter before him. A tear jerking cry wrenched from his throat as the last bond he felt with his mate was severed, leaving him in cold painful oblivion.

"What was created to keep us contained has been broken, it is no longer needed to bind our powers, for we are now both whole, two beings in one soul." The Jewel stared deeply into the golden irises of the hanyou.

InuYasha shook his head numbly, as he shut his eyes. Hot tears flecked down on his paled cheeks. "I will never be whole again."

A soft sigh swept over him like a calming zephyr wind. "Oh InuYasha…. You will never be alone. She is apart of you, as we all are apart of each other."

InuYasha's eyes slowly looked up at the Jewel in quiet brokenness before holding Kagome softly against him.

The Shikon no Tama smiled softly down at him as it held all the secrets he wanted told. Slowly and peacefully, the Jewel lifted its face to the sky.

"I leave you, Guardians of the Swords of Souls. Live and protect this world in their truth."

In a blaze of wind and white light, the Jewel slowly began to ebb and swirl, expanding outwards and upwards in a colossal tornado of intense energy, blinding the two brothers. And in a pure flash of light and warmth, it was gone.

Sesshomaru blinked his eyes and looked around. The shock bled the red from his face as he watched his entire army stir and gaze around. A few had even sat up, brushing grass and debris from their uniforms in bewilderment. All of them, each and every one, were alive and well, unscathed and unmarked by all that had occurred. His head hesitantly dropped to look down at InuYasha who was staring out into the tundra, his expression lifeless. His mate's body was still tucked tightly against him. The tai youkai was about to speak before he heard a voice call out across the barrens.

"InuYasha!" Sango waved her arms excitedly as she and the monk arrived in front of them astride the demon slayer's fire cat.

InuYasha made no response, instead he slowly tucked his face into the crook of Kagome's neck, instinctively breathing in her unique smell.

"InuYasha! Kagome!" Miroku smiled and hopped off the fire cat. "Kagome?"

"Kagome!" Sango jumped off Kilala and ran to them but Miroku held her back.

"What happened?" The monk's face drained as he watched the hanyou. InuYasha looked like he was devoid of all life.

Sesshomaru looked at them. "Do you not remember?"

Both warriors looked up at him. Sango stared at him in confusion, and Miroku shook his head. "No, I just remember falling off Kilala and…." He looked around and blinked. "Where's Naraku? Where are all the bodies…why…?"

"Naraku was also the Shikon no Tama, the darker half of it." Sesshomaru stated. "He searched for Kagome to…."

"She died." A voice mumbled up to them.

All three looked down at the half demon. His head rested on Kagome's chest and he seemed to be staring into space. "She died. She gave herself to Naraku and saved us. And now she's gone. They're both gone."

"Oh, InuYasha." Sango's eyes glistened with sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Miroku placed an arm around the slayer's waist and drew her into his chest and she willingly hugged into him and mourned the girl who saved them. His own eyes moistened with tears before they also fell. "At least she knew how much we loved her."

"No."

Miroku looked down at the hanyou in confusion.

Golden eyes slowly shut as he eased his hold on Kagome. "She never knew. I never told her."

Sango lifted her head from the monk's chest and gazed down at him. "InuYasha?"

"Brother." Sesshomaru's stoic voice seemed like a rock in this unstable moment and InuYasha was slightly jarred. "It would not do to keep her contained within you any longer. You have held yourself from her for more than was needed."

InuYasha barely opened his eyes as his elder brother's words filtered into his mind. It was the truth. He had kept it hidden within him longer than he intended, too afraid of what she would say or do or think. He had meant to tell her, to give her that piece of him he never let anyone have, but it never seemed like the right time. There was always something holding him back: his trust, her loyalties, their powers, and their secrets. And even with those out of the way he still could not give him completely to her.

It was because he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted it to be alone after making love to her repeatedly. He wanted time to say it right, to say it in such a way that she would never doubt his words. But a funny thing about being alive. You think you are given all the time in the world, but all you are given is all the time in your life. And who knows how long that is. And he missed his chance. Now here he was, holding her body, on a battlefield where each of them died, and all but she was able to know how he truly felt. If given the time back, he would have told her the moment he knew, and he would have told her every moment of everyday that she completed him.

His brother was right. He couldn't keep it contained any longer. Though she couldn't hear him, he would finally let her know, finally let her have his life that was hers the moment they met.

He lifted her face to his own and pressed his lips onto hers, finally letting go and spilling his entire heart into that kiss. He poured everything he felt the moment he knew he was hers, and she his, into her lifeless body. He let Kagome have his soul.

He reluctantly lifted his mouth from hers, his breath shaking and hot against the winter frost and her pale lips. "Kagome…" he nuzzled his face into the nape of her neck, breathing her in for the last time, "I love you."

And then there was silence, broken by a massive gasp of air as Kagome's chest heaved in a breath. Her body trembled and her fingers softly folded into the sleeve of his fire rat haori.

InuYasha shook in shock and his quivering clawed hands lifted her face to his own. "Ka…gome?" His throat barely let him speak.

A soft moan escaped her lips and deep blue eyes blinked heavily open. She smiled softly up at him. "Inu…Yasha." Her breath shuttered as her lungs got used to the bitter cold. "I had a strange dream."

InuYasha couldn't even breathe. He looked her over, praying to everything that this wasn't a dream. Her voice, her deliciously beautiful voice had said his name. He looked into her now lively blue eyes. "Kagome? You're… oh gods!" He clutched her hard against him.

She wheezed from the pressure. "I'm what?"

InuYasha let her go slightly and looked into her beautiful dark eyes. His gaze danced around her face, still fighting the idea it was all a dream. She smelled the same, looked the same, except her eyes, but she felt… different. But she was definitely alive, and purely Kagome.

InuYasha fisted his hands into her soft kimono and knocked the air out of her once again as he crushed his lips onto her soft warm ones, not giving a damn to the excited shouting of the slayer and monk who have been screaming the moment she revived. He wrenched his lips from hers and gazed down at her face. Her cheeks were pink and flustered and her eyes glassy and deep, and filled with such passion and love he never knew imaginable. "How…?"

She tilted her head slightly in a daze. "How?"

"The Shikon stated it was never a real soul, it had melded into ones it made. Kagome had her own soul. The Shikon was but a part of it." Sesshomaru stated as if it was the most obvious thing and leaned down to help her onto her feet.

Kagome looked confused when she saw her father and her friends surrounding her. InuYasha stood up quickly beside her, not letting go of her in anyway, as if she would vanish if he did. "Shikon? Soul?"

"Do you not remember?" Her father lifted an eyebrow slightly.

Kagome frowned as she tried to recall her last memories and then paled. "Oh…." She looked at InuYasha. "Yes. I kissed you goodbye, and then… I was here." She rubbed her forehead. "I had the weirdest dream, about a white light and souls, the Shikon no Tama and feeling so sad, because I lost something I really loved."

She looked at all of them and struggled with a small smile. "I guess it doesn't matter." She blinked heavily and looked around and her expression widened in surprise. "What happened? Where is Naraku…?"

Her father let a small rumble echo in his chest. "Gone, as is the Shikon no Tama. You need never have fear of it anymore."

Kagome examined the youkai lord briefly, too overwhelmed to question, but knew enough to believe whatever her father said. She shivered and leaned slightly against InuYasha in exhaustion as she came to grips with her surroundings and what had happened. The Shikon no Tama was gone, which meant she was….

"Kagome?" Sango caressed her arm. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel…strange… like I'm…missing something." She rubbed her arms distractedly. She looked at InuYasha's neck expectantly and frowned. "What happened to the necklace?"

"It is no longer needed." Sesshomaru stated simply. "Its purpose was to contain the Shikon and the youkai powers. All that remains now are InuYasha and yourself. As long as you are with him, InuYasha need never fear himself either."

Kagome watched him in a daze. "What do you mean?"

"The Shikon was but a part of you." He father looked at her bored. "When the rosary was placed, it connected the Shikon and the youkai together. Now with the Shikon no Tama back to where it belongs, the rosary is invalid. The link that remains is the soul bond you created when you mated earlier today."

Kagome shot beet red as did InuYasha who scratched distractedly at the back of his head as they remembered their actions before the war started.

Miroku's eyes gleamed and he was about to open his mouth before Sango slapped him across the back of the head.

Kagome coughed slightly. "Soul bond?"

Sesshomaru gazed down at her wryly. "The actions of love through mating. With the essence of life mixed between two souls, a soul bond is created. You are now apart of each other. One soul, in two bodies. Now more so than ever."

Kagome shook her head in disbelief, too overwhelmed as it was. "One soul…in two bodies? When we… it made our souls one?"

"To an extent. The true connection happened when you died to release the Shikon no Tama. Your soul was already bound to InuYasha by that time. So naturally your soul would become one with his when you died."

Kagome paled. "I…I died?"

"We all did…" Miroku glanced up at Sesshomaru, "I think."

The youkai never bothered to correct the monk. "It seems the Shikon no Tama paid retribution and gave back the life it had taken. How could it give back a soul that was not taken by it, but by yourself? You gave your soul to InuYasha, and he returned it… finally." Sesshomaru frowned slightly and turned to oversee his amassing army.

Kagome watched him go, unable to comprehend what he meant. She then looked to Sango and Miroku, and finally InuYasha. She was silent for a long while before her small voice broke the dead calm.

"Then it's over?" She sighed and looked up at the sky as she assessed her bearings. "They're gone? And… I'm human." She looked down at her hands expecting some sort of powers. "I don't see the lights anymore… but I still feel them."

Sango laughed. "Well, yeah, you're still a miko, regardless. Though the Shikon is no longer in you, you are still a compliment of it, just without powers beyond your control."

The blue-eyed girl looked up at her friends expectantly. "It feels so much like a dream, I don't think I'll ever understand what happened, what it was all for."

"Keh. It doesn't matter anyways. It's over, and there's only one thing that matters." InuYasha smirked.

All three looked over at him.

"And what's that?" Kagome asked.

"Living." He smiled down at her and lifted her face to brush his lips against hers. "And loving."

Kagome's azure eyes opened wide and shut softly as his kiss deepened. "InuYasha?"

"I love you, Kagome." He breathed against her mouth.

Kagome shivered at his touch and pressed her mouth against his once more. "I love you."

A slight cough caught their attention and both grinned up at each other before turning back to their friends.

"So what do we do now?" Sango asked.

"Yeah." Miroku grinned. "Seems like everything is back to normal, well, as normal can be."

"Normal…." Kagome breathed, liking the way it felt.

InuYasha folded his arms around her waist and held her tight against his chest. "No special powers, no abnormal link… do you think you can handle being normal, Kagome?"

A snort echoed over the tundra and all four gazed over at Sesshomaru who had turned to look back at them. "She is not normal. Her soul is combined with yours. She is apart of you, and you of her. Her life is shared with your own. Who would consider a lifetime with a hanyou normal?"

InuYasha's jaw dropped as he watched his half brother turn and continue walking towards his generals. "Did he just insult me?" He gathered Kagome into his arms and leapt up after Sesshomaru - Sango, Miroku and Kilala racing behind. "Hey, fuck face, what did you mean by that!"

Kagome's face turned from one of confusion to one of complete joy as she wrapped her arms around InuYasha's neck. A lifetime with her mate. But for some reason, a lifetime didn't seem like the end.

And for the first time in all that she could remember, she felt complete.


	31. Chapter 31

_Just because I like follow ups.

* * *

_

InuYasha knocked tentatively on the heavy wooden door. "Look…I'm…sorry. I didn't mean it, and yes, I was being unreasonable." He waited a long minute before he sniffed deeply and his eyes widened. "Oh fuck no!"

A resounding thud echoed around the manor house and within seconds a very irate hanyou stormed through the kitchen and out into the gardens.

"She crawled out the window again." Miroku sighed as he patted his son's back against his shoulder.

Sango giggled and placed their twin daughter on her husband's opposite shoulder. "It took him long enough to realize. She took off as soon as he locked her in there."

Miroku leaned up and kissed his wife lovingly. "We can only hope our kids take after her."

The slayer laughed and ruffled his hair before wiping sweet dough off Shippou's face.

"How far do you think she got this time?" The kitsune sucked the dough on his fingers.

Both human's shook their heads and laughed.

InuYasha tore through the meadow, following the sweet scent of his mate. He growled furiously before he found her sitting on the knoll looking out at the ocean. Taiga was near by, shredding up long blades of grass and giving him a meager glance.

"Well!" He snarled.

Kagome lifted her gaze lazily up to his. "You should have learned by now that locking the door doesn't work."

InuYasha fisted his hands in his hair and tugged. "Where!"

Kagome flicked her eyes to a nearby hedge and went back to reading to her small son who was sitting in her lap. She kissed his tiny black puppy ears as she turned the page. He fidgeted and rubbed his thick black hair from his cherub face, flicking his ears in annoyance. "Is she in trouble again, momma?"

She shushed him softly and smiled against his downy head.

InuYasha was already at the hedge, his arms crossed stiffly under his arms. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

A small white head emerged from behind the hedge, and soft white ears were flattened in submission. "I wanted to go on the picnic with momma." A soft voice replied pitifully. "I don't want to play with Tetsusaiga today."

InuYasha's jaw dropped. "Play?" He gripped his sword tightly against him. "The Tetsusaiga is not a toy, you don't play with it! It's a tool, a wea…."

"A weapon that will be passed down to the eldest child who will bear the weight of the Truth of Life." The small hanyou replied. "But daddy, you're going to live forever. Can't we just have today and play… I mean… learn tomorrow?"

InuYasha opened his mouth to protest then shut it. He leaned over and picked up his daughter and first-born, no more than five years old and already smarter than he was. He proudly hugged her against him and kissed her soft cheek. "Hey, did I tell you I love you today?"

His daughter nuzzled his chin as he carried her over to his family who sat happily on the knoll by the softly splaying ocean. "Yes, daddy, but right now is the best time to tell me again."

* * *

And that's the end. I hope you enjoyed the story. It was my first fanfic, well, my first anything I have written, and I plan of going back and revising sometime, but I imagine if you are like me and get into the writing groove, you realize more ideas hit you and bang, you need to write them down too. So I'm actually working on a new story called Search for the Shikon, it will be a far cry from Cannot Be Broken, but I'm hoping it will be liked as well.

I want to thank all of you who have read my story, and a special thanks to each of you who left a review. You don't know how many times I was about to give up on this story, and then I'd get a review and I'd get my confidence back up again. So thank you once again, you are in my heart and I'm forever glad to have such wonderful support.

Leila-chan, you especially really made this story for me. With your continued reviews and raving love for this story, it really made me want to get it done. I especially thank you for your support on mediaminer. For those of you on fanfiction, I am amazed so many placed me on their favorite authors list, and even more amazed of the continuous reviews I received on there. I love you all so much.

Love long, love hard, but most of all love. Heaven is our heart's content, and it will only be more wonderful the more we share it.

WDW


End file.
